Hey there,
My name's Kate
My Story
I live in the Pacific Northwest with my husband and our kitty, Jade. I grew up on the coast of Southern California, absolutely spoiled by the sunshine and sandy beaches. A few years ago, I relocated the Seattle area where I’m equally spoiled by the view of the Cascades and Puget Sound. I’ve always had a love of art and nature. I spent a lot of my childhood and young adult life on camping and rock-climbing trips.
Art was always a way for me to relieve stress and feed my soul. What started as the scribblings of a toddler, morphed into what you see today. I love painting beautiful places and using a limited color palette to suggest a mood. I have no formal training other than a couple life drawing classes taken in college. I’ve mainly learned through watching YouTube tutorials and admiring other artist’s work. I'm constantly pushing myself to learn new techniques, experiment, and most importantly, have FUN!
I’m inspired by the world around me. I love the hundreds of shades of green in a landscape, the way the light filters through the trees, swaying of branches in the wind, and the way the light glitters on the water. I take these things in and apply it when I can paint. When I started painting landscapes, it changed the way I view the world around me. Now, when I'm hiking or looking out of the window from the car, I'm constantly thinking how I can translate it onto a canvas.
A little more about me...
My favorite colors I find myself using the most are:
Payne's Grey (I use this instead of black) Prussian Blue, Yellow Ochre, Alizarin Crimson, Burnt Sienna, Olive Green, Burnt Umber, Titanium White, & Cadmium Yellow.
Things other than art:
If I'm not painting, I feel a strong need to do something creative. I enjoy cooking, crocheting, photography or making my own sketchbooks! I also love to rock climb and hike.
Art Brands I love:
I have a blog post on this here. But my most used brands are Princeton Brushes, Holbein Artists Gouache, M.Graham Artists Gouache, Pentalic Aqua Journal and Arches Cold-Pressed Watercolor Paper.
Three things I can't live without (other than the obvious stuff):
1. I can't make it without coffee. Cappuccino's are my favorite!
2. Music! I can't get through a day without listening to my 70's rock playlist.
3. Nature: I gain all my inspiration from nature and it's often the place I go to clear my head and recharge.