A Bluethumb Success Story: Katie Wyatt
“I remember being only 4 years old and telling my mum I wanted to have an exhibition and I didn’t actually know what one was!” Katie Wyatt tells us this as she looks back at her inclination to follow an artistic path. Fast forward to 2021 and she now finds herself as one of Bluethumb’s bestselling artists, a hot favourite with interior designers and one of The Design Files’ must-see artists at the last Affordable Art Fair in Melbourne. Indeed, since becoming a full-time artist, Katie has experienced unwavering success as a painter. Her seascapes have been consistently acquired and loved by collectors across Australia and overseas, and continue to make her an iconic painter of Australia’s equally iconic coastline.
Having only recently re-located, we were lucky enough to catch Katie Wyatt in her new home studio!
“I was very young when I discovered the pure joy of creating and have always had an inner knowledge that I was different to most people. I had a wonderful childhood and was encouraged to paint and draw from a very early age. I was lucky that my parents recognised early on that I had a love of art and craft so encouraged me as a child. Mum kept me stocked up with sticky tape, paper, pens, pencils and empty cereal boxes.”
From cereal boxes, to quality canvases! Of course, there’s still room for a little makeshift magic.
Katie’s deep connection to the ocean informs a prevalent body of seascapes within her work; some of the most prolific on Bluethumb. “[The ocean] has always relaxed me and brings back memories of family trips and just being at peace. As a young kid I was lucky enough to grow up with 3 sisters and a caravan-mad mum and dad who took us all over South Australia and interstate camping. My love of the ocean comes from this – it’s been a huge part of my life,” explains Katie. “I’m often asked if I use photographs or if I paint specific locations, but I paint from memory and the feelings I recall while being at the beach, so the pieces are not specific – they are like a visual diary in some ways.”
Katie Wyatt employs complementary hues within her pieces, giving them a textural appearance good enough to eat.
Katie’s love of impasto, thickly textured pieces is perhaps a response to her high school art classes. “I recall studying art in year 12 and working with oil paint for a few lessons. We were only allowed to have the tiniest amount on our palette probably due to a tight school budget and I remember being incredibly frustrated at having to paint so “thin” and just could not get the result I was after. I think the resulting painting was probably hideous!
Two of Katie’s smaller pieces, fresh off the easel.
“These days I use so much paint because the product itself is as much a part of my process as the subject matter – I don’t think I could have one without the other. I’m inspired by texture, colour combinations and accidental gestures that come together to create each original painting. My work is very loose and representational.”
Another sneak peek at the process! It’s not just blues and greens that go into Katie’s beach scenes.
“I’d love for my pieces to trigger happy memories in my viewers, especially my beachscapes. We are so fortunate in Australia with our spectacular coastline. I think most people have a fond beach memory that can relate back to my work in some form. It’s such a privilege that so many people connect to my work and I never take it for granted.
Katie’s studio assistant Charlie is the puurrrfect company for those well-deserved tea breaks.
“I view the world differently and try to creatively represent that for others to hang in their homes. I see colours, shapes and form but I also see and feel emotions. I soak it all up, think about it, rehash it and process it, then allow it to shape my creative practice – it comes out on the canvas.”
We love the smaller pieces Katie offers in her work – perfect for those nooks and crannies!
The future for Katie Wyatt is looking bright and we’re so excited to be on that ride with her. “I’m continuing to develop my trademark themes of landscapes, beachscapes and botanicals and I feel like I still have hundreds of paintings in my head that need to come out – it’s getting pretty crowded up there!”
Explore more of Katie’s iconic work on her profile.
I bought recently Katie Wyatt’s Angelica. I love the free sweeping thickly textured abstract painting. It fills me with joy whenever I look at it. Completely different from any of my other pieces, it’s modern and happy. A reawakening after Victoria’s Covid lockdown in 2020.
Katie is such an inspiration. Her artworks are absolutely beautiful❤️ I can relate to her desire for thick paint and texture!