Kate Owen
- May 15
- 3 min read
Kate Owen is an abstract painter based on a farm near North Star in Australia. She made wedding gowns and worked in fashion for years, and started painting full time in 2017 when both her sons left for boarding school. She built a studio on the property and paints organic forms, cactus, fungi, flowers, things she says her hand just likes to draw. She works large, in acrylic with oil stick on top, and is represented by Wentworth Galleries.
Q: You started in fashion design. How did painting take over?
A: I worked in fashion after college and ran my own business making wedding gowns and other custom clothing. I circled back to painting over the years through the odd workshop here and there, but after marrying I was busy with young kids and other businesses. As time went on, the desire to paint became very strong. Once both my boys went away to boarding school, I finally had more time to devote to painting and threw myself into it full time in 2017 and have been practicing non-stop since then.
Q: Your studio is out on a farm near North Star in Northern NSW. Does that remoteness matter for the work?
A: I purpose built my studio in 2018 to give myself a dedicated creative space where I didn't need to pack up and keep things tidy. It's not so much that I need the studio in this location for the purpose of painting the view from it, it's more about the mental space it gives me. Being removed from the hustle and bustle of neighbours and city life means there are no distractions and it helps put me in the right headspace for creating.
Q: Your subjects tend to be organic, cactus, fungi, flowers. What is it about those forms specifically?
A: I'm drawn to these forms because I love their sculptural qualities and they have an aesthetic that sparks joy for me, but also, they are forms that lend themselves to the type of mark my hand likes to make.
Q: You work large and loose, acrylic with oil sticks on top. When did that combination click for you?
A: I've always liked to work large as it gives me a lot more "room to move," enabling a more loose and free approach. I love the raw energy in the first marks, but as my practice developed, I looked for ways to intensify the work, to take it further without losing the gestural marks and add vibrancy to the colour, so adding layers of collage and oil stick really make the process more exciting and well-rounded for me. On a more practical note, I love oils but find using acrylics better suit the pace at which I paint; drying quickly allows me to keep momentum. Using oil sticks is a way I get to enjoy the lushness of oil paint without the mess, but also, I find the drawing element very satisfying.
Q: Colour clearly runs your whole practice. Do you know the palette before you start, or does it arrive as you go?
A: I am constantly scribbling with paint on paper as I work, which is where a lot of colour palette ideas appear. I will usually have a bit of an idea when I start of the general palette, but it seems to evolve on the canvas during the process. When I am painting a collection, you can usually see a progression through each work where colours are the same, similar then new in different pieces where I have discovered a new combination like a happy accident that I then explore further in the next piece.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: This year I am making a concerted effort to slow down and work with more intuitive intent, taking my time with the work and pushing myself to keep coming back and working on the pieces until I am satisfied that they are as resolved as they can be and sparking my own joy when viewing them. I have only just recently released my first pieces of the year to Wentworth Galleries in Sydney and am now working on finishing a small collection of pieces for Wentworth in Brisbane to show at the Affordable Art Fair in May. May is a hugely busy time for showing opportunities with many regional shows on this month, so I have a few works popping up in various places such as Aspects Art Show in Goondiwindi, which is my local town.
