Hi, This is me - Kathryn Elise...
Before becoming a full-time artist, I spent 25 years as an architect, designing spaces that shaped how people experienced the world around them. Today, I bring that same intention to my artwork. Rather than creating physical places, I now create emotional ones—using the eyes of animals to invite connection, reflection, and perhaps a deeper understanding of ourselves.
My work explores human states of being through the eyes of animals, using them as mirrors for emotion, instinct, connection, and personal growth. Each animal becomes a reflection of qualities we recognise within ourselves, inviting us to see something of our own story in theirs.
Working across detailed coloured pencil drawings and expressive acrylic paintings, I create collections that move between intimacy and atmosphere. The pencil works focus on observation and emotional clarity, while the paintings expand these ideas through expressive colour, texture, and movement.
My ongoing series, Animal Eyes / Human Qualities, presents animals not simply as subjects, but as emotional connections that encourage quiet reflection on who we are, what guides us, and the qualities that shape how we live.
Bold, vibrant colour plays an important role throughout my paintings, used emotionally rather than literally. Moving beyond naturalistic representation, unexpected colour palettes and expressive mark-making create atmosphere and deepen the impact of each piece.