About Me
Hello, I'm Kate - (mostly) self taught artist, tea drinker, daydreamer, gardener, dog enthusiast, spiritual and late diagnosed ADHD'er. I live with my lovely husband, very tall teenage son, two dogs and a cat who's entirely convinced he is in fact a dog. I also have two amazing adult step children and a son-in -law, all of which as bonkers as I am. Life here is full, chaotic and most of all wonderfully ordinary.
I've been creative for as long as I can remember. As a child I was always drawing and colouring - especially horses - and as a teenager I proudly painted two giant tiger murals on my bedroom walls. After finishing high school I studied art and design for one year at college, dabbling in still life, photography and textiles. however sadly somewhere along the way I fell very deeply into impostor syndrome so badly that I laid down my pencils and paint for far too many years.
Even so, creativity never left me - it just changed shape and I found joy in scrapbooking, miniature making and any little project that let my creative mind and hands get busy.
Then came lockdown, and with it, a strange sense of calm. It gave me time to pick up a pencil again. I began drawing anything and everything (I played along with the Portrait of the Year lockdown competition) - I drew portraits, animals, I made messy experiments with paint. I watched YouTube tutorials, studied values and light, read books and slowly started to build my confidence. Each piece I put out there the feedback was just getting better and better.
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When I discovered coloured pencils, something clicked. The layering, the softness, the control - I was hooked. Friends and family started requesting pet portraits and what started as quiet practice slowly became a business rooted in joy and connection.
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Now I'm here - building this little corner of the internet where I can share not just my art, but the stories behind it. You'll find everything from finished commissions to sketchbook pages, as well as musings on creativity, ADHD, nature and everyday life.... the up's the downs and all the inbetweens.
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When I'm not drawing I'm daydreaming, walking dogs or training dogs at a local dog school, where I have been mentored since 2022. I now run a small puppy class on the weekend as well as private 1-2-1 lessons with puppy owners. If you are local to Suffolk and need help with your pup, you can find us at www.onthescent.co.uk
This website isn't just a gallery - its a journey. And I'm so glad you've found your way here