Kate Taylor

The Tidal Pool, vibrant acrylic palette knife painting on birch panel

2024

Humanity is connected to nature; our place within it and the energy we derive from this relationship. Kate Taylor artwork explores the unique forms and colours of nature and how they are an integral part of our lives – bringing contentment, grounding and joy. Capturing the energy in dynamic flower petals or communicating the movement of water, the visual is simplified to the barest elements. The unexpected colour combinations create energy and vibration, again encompassing the theme of joy. Viewers are encourage to enter the work and reflect on their current state; reconnect with the natural world around us and move forward with positivism. The decision to work in an abstract manner has been a natural progression. Initially, Taylor was very involved in photography, with the intention to capture the organic lines and fulsome colour of the environment. Now working solely with a palette knife, she pulls multiple colours on both sides of the knife, mixing the colours directly on the panel. Working flat, she creates from all sides, ensuring that the piece works compositionally from all angles. The stained wood grain of the birch panel becomes an integral part of the composition and, like a watercolour, is left untouched. The resin enhances the colours but also reflects the viewer, incorporating them into the piece; encouraging the viewer to be encompassed by nature and to be more thoughtful of their place within it. Kate's creative influences include Claude Monet’s Water Lilies, the Group of Seven, specifically Tom Thompson’s work using complementary colours in the underpainting, Jean Paul Riopelle – the Montreal-based artist who captured raw energy in his large canvases, using multiple colours simultaneously on his palette knife and glass artist Dale Chihuly for his approach to colour, exuberance and experimentation. Kate’s work is in private collections in Canada, the UK, Australia, Brazil, the US, and the Philippines.