Kathrine was raised in suburban Dublin, the daughter of an artist and an engineer.
Summers were spent in West Kerry, and though she now lives in semi rural Kildare,
Kerry is her spiritual home.
Her mother would paint the landscape, and her father would bring his children to climb
Mount Brandon, or swim on almost deserted beaches, all the time teaching them about
the natural world around them. Kathrine’s mother was a strong influence, encouraging
her children in their creativity, and putting art materials into their hands as soon as they
could hold them.
While raising four children, Kathrine attended the National College of Art and Design in
the evenings. However, she is largely self-taught and has developed her process and
her unique style of painting. Her work is concerned with nature, habitat and the
conservation of wild places. Not a botanical artist in the strict scientific sense, rather
she describes native plants in their natural habitat, those plants that some might call
weeds, so important for biodiversity. What you see in her paintings is an insect’s-eye
view of the world.
Kathrine takes on projects which relate to a particular habitat, and describes this
habitat through its wild plants. She hopes that her work will help to raise awareness of
the importance of these places. Her projects have explored subjects such as the crash
in our pollinator numbers, the different habitats of the North Bull Island in Dublin Bay, a
UNESCO biosphere reserve, and she is currently exploring boglands and fens, so
important for carbon sequestration, and as a habitat for wildlife.
Kathrine has had seven solo exhibitions, and her work appears in the State Collections,
and in corporate and private collections.