KATHY E WATSON
New Zealand Artist
New Zealand Artist
'Fishing the Shoal, Hauraki Gulf, NZ'
Kathy has sketched and painted all her life. She achieved a life long ambition and studied at the Whitecliffe College of Art and Design later in life after bringing up a family and working in the nursing profession,
Focusing mainly on Marine and Narrative painting at that time, she exhibited in Auckland galleries, including Art by the Sea and Art of this World galleries in Devonport, and the Studio of Contemporary Art, Newmarket. Other highlights of those years were sailing the Hauraki gulf with the family, working as a resident artist at Lake House Arts Centre in Takapuna and organising the Stars and Stripes gallery in Auckland's Viaduct Basin during the 2000 Americas Cup Regatta.
Kathy has sketched and painted all her life. She achieved a life long ambition and studied at the Whitecliffe College of Art and Design later in life after bringing up a family and working in the nursing profession,
Focusing mainly on Marine and Narrative painting at that time, she exhibited in Auckland galleries, including Art by the Sea and Art of this World galleries in Devonport, and the Studio of Contemporary Art, Newmarket. Other highlights of those years were sailing the Hauraki gulf with the family, working as a resident artist at Lake House Arts Centre in Takapuna and organising the Stars and Stripes gallery in Auckland's Viaduct Basin during the 2000 Americas Cup Regatta.
'Kaipara Sings - Kaipara Weeps'
The paintings in this Narrative series told a story in mixed media, as in the poignant history of the Kaipara harbour in 'Kaipara Sings - Kaipara Weeps' painting.
The new tondo series follows on from these in both the mixed media and narrative formats though often in a more abstract interpretation.
'Farmland near Te Awamutu with distant Mt Kakapuku' - LINK to Waikato Landscape
Kathy moved to the Waikato, a rural area south of Auckland a decade ago, to watch Grandchildren grow up and share her studio with them! She began a series of paintings depicting the landscape, finding it a great way of becoming acclimatised.
'The wide open skies, the green pastures, trees - both native and exotic, mountains, rivers and lakes, together with isolated signs of habitation such as fence posts, farm houses with colourful gardens - and water tanks set high on a hill.
AND A HUGE SENSE OF SPACE AND FRESH AIR THAT MAKES IT ESSENTIALLY NEW ZEALAND.'
'Christmas Rose and Magnolia' - LINK to Waikato Gardens
Waikato Gardens are a joy to behold! I love to wander round our large garden after a day in the studio to find a bloom just asking to be painted. I then do a quick small palette knife painting to use up the paint on my palette before the big clean up for the day.
These smaller paintings evolve into bigger canvases such as 'When Shadows Lengthen'.
'A Bird in the Hand'
NEW WORK
A complete departure from the recent landscape paintings this new Tondo series is still in progress, creating exciting, unique compositions combined with tactile mixed media. This approach was explored previously in the Narrative series.
NEW WORK
A complete departure from the recent landscape paintings this new Tondo series is still in progress, creating exciting, unique compositions combined with tactile mixed media. This approach was explored previously in the Narrative series.
Her work is held in private and corporate collections in N.Z. and Overseas, including Carter Holt Harvey, New York; Graeme Hart; Telecom NZ; Dennis Conner, Stars and Stripes Americas Cup 2000 Syndicate and the Prada Americas Cup 2000 Syndicate.
Awards:
Finalist Telecom Art Awards 1992
Finalist North Shore City Art Awards 1994 to 2000
NZ Sugar Company Awards at Pumphouse, North Shore, Auckland - Seascape Award - 1995 and 1998, and Merit Award 2003.
Oil Painting Award, Mairangi Arts Centre Members Exhibition 2004
Influences:
'The New Zealanders Toss Woolaston and James Nairn; the English artists J.M.W. Turner and John Constable; the Americans Edward Hopper and Winslow Homer and the Australian Heidelberg Group have all been a source of inspiration in landscape and marine work.
Wassily Kandinsky's work has always held a fascination for me with his wonderful use of colour and innovation'.