Kate Owen

Kate Owen is a semi-abstract painter working from her home studio on property in northern NSW, a creative oasis with expansive views of undulating farming country.

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Her work conveys a playful curiosity of organic forms, being particularly drawn to the sculptural and whimsical individuality of fungi and cacti. Using acrylic paint, through gestural mark making she captures her joy in the physicality of drawing with paint and oil sticks. Colour lies at the heart of Kate’s practice; using it to heighten emotional resonance in the work.

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Kate took up painting full time in 2017 having worked in various creative industries after graduating with a diploma in Fashion Design in 1989. She has had several solo exhibitions, group shows, won a variety of art prizes and has recently been selected as a finalist in the National Emerging Art Prize. She is listed with Wentworth Galleries in Brisbane and Sydney but also sells direct through her website and mailing list.

My studio is a creative oasis surrounded by wide stretches of farmland, offering the physical and mental openness that is essential to my practice. Within this quiet landscape, I reflect on the parallels between the natural world and human emotion.

I create abstract interpretations of my emotional response to music and botanical forms being particularly drawn to to the sculptural and whimsical individuality of fungi and cacti. I explore these subjects through the simple joy of drawing with paint.

My process begins with observation and absorption; a gathering of things that spark joy within heart and mind. While I sometimes sketch to explore ideas, I often prefer to let the work develop intuitively on the canvas, allowing each piece to discover its own rhythm and essence fuelled by the impulses of my stored visual impressions.

Working on a large scale keeps my gestures loose and expressive, preserving spontaneous first marks. I use acrylic paint mixed with mediums to build layers of opacity and transparency, incorporating oil sticks to introduce rich, luminous colour and depth.

Colour is central to my practice. I use it to heighten emotional resonance and to reveal the beauty inherent in both nature and human experience. Through each work, I hope to evoke the playful curiosity of childhood—a space where wonder, spontaneity and creativity are abundant.