Treasure 8

This work will be on display at the Bluethumb Gallery in Richmond, Melbourne for the 2023 Bluethumb Art Prize Finalists Exhibition from October 11th to November 27th. Delivery of this work will take place following the 2023 Bluethumb Art Prize Awards Night on October 26th.

Do you notice the solitary gum tree in a paddock as you drive by? Do you visit a creek or river and admire the river red gum gently leaning over the water? As a child of the Western District in Victoria, I have been admiring these trees all my life. It feels like the right time to take on the challenge of capturing these unique beauties, before they are gone. In this large, original painting I want to celebrate the tree as a natural treasure, standing like a sentinel in an otherwise treeless paddock or gracing the river bank. I'm saying to each tree, "I see you, I appreciate you, I love you and you are important". I am also saying it to anyone else who sees themselves in this tree. Like us, each gum tree is unique in its gnarly, wizened, weather beaten beauty. In this painting I have used fluid acrylics, textured brush marks and delicate layers of colour to express the shape and patterns, light and shade, nooks and crannies of the tree. This is juxtaposed against the soft, controlled gradation of pastel colours that give the painting depth and enhances the gravitas of the tree.
This work is 100cm wide x 180cm high x 4cm deep, unframed, ready to hang. The painting continues around each edge of the canvas. If you prefer, you can easily choose a hand crafted frame at checkout. I provide a signed Certificate of Authenticity with each painting. I carefully package each work in bubble wrap and recycled cardboard so that they arrive safely, ready for you to enjoy.

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Kate Wise's acrylic paintings are a celebration of the beauty she finds in nature. Kate plays with scale and negative space and creates sumptuous colour palettes to produce harmonious yet lively compositions. If you need more of these things in your life, welcome, you are in the right place!

Kate is a contemporary acrylic painter based in Haddon, just outside Ballarat. She says 'nature is an inspiring force' and it drives her creation of calm, feminine, and flowing paintings that are original, fresh, and lively. Kate paints large works informed by the bushland, farmland, and waterways of Western Victoria, as well as the coastal places she visits. The River Red Gums and quiet bends of the Mount Emu Creek in Skipton remain central to her sense of place and to the way she approaches painting.

You can enjoy Kate's work as vibrant landscapes, but in her current series of paintings, she invites you to delve a little deeper, as she explores the psychological terrain of landscape painting. Kate believes that the capacity to draw meaning and feeling from observing the complexities of nature is a gift that painting offers both the artist and the viewer.

Kate's paintings are held in private collections across Australia and overseas, and are often acquired by collectors, interior designers, and curators. From 2018 to 2023, Kate managed my own gallery in Ballarat’s Block Arcade. That experience strengthened her studio discipline and helped her develop a consistent, recognisable body of work.

Kate exhibits through local galleries, community art spaces, and open studio programs, including Hidden Gems Artist Studios. Her practice is defined by close observation and a steady, disciplined approach to making, with a focus on creating cohesive, nature‑led paintings at scale.