Artist Kathryn Ritchie finds her inspiration in the landscape around her

01 Dec 2022

Kathryn has dabbled in art all her life, but her real journey began twenty years ago when her husband Mark suggested they make their garage into an art room so she could follow her passion. Having always loved Resene products, Kathryn’s new art room was soon full of colourful paints ready to be dipped into.

 “I wanted to brighten spaces in our garden and create visual surprises in odd places. I could create to my heart’s content,” Kathryn says.”

Van Gogh Sunflowers: Kathryn used Resene Bowie, Resene Koru, Resene Kenyan Copper, Resene Intrigue and Resene Flair.

Kathryn creates everything from still life artworks to abstract art on an outdoor toilet inspired by Vincent Van Gogh.  She gets her inspiration from the places she visits and the people she sees, using her experiences in life to create wonder with a paintbrush.

Using photos she has taken as a starting point; Kathryn creates her version of what she sees. She uses the natural features around her to inspire her colour palette, but she likes to work with a bolder interpretation of these colours.

Boat: wistful and dreamy, painted with Resene Bermuda Grey, Resene Ironsand, Resene Mondo and Resene Chamois. 

She starts all her pieces using marine ply which she primes with Resene Quick Dry. She paints the background first then work forward from there slowly bringing the painting to life.

Beach: Kathryn’s favourite piece, painted with Resene Lucky Point, Resene Tangaroa, Resene Ironsand, Resene Mondo, Resene Black, Resene White, and from the metallics range Resene Aluminium. Kathryn used a Resene textured finish for the sand texture. 

One of Kathryn’s favourite art works is a painting of men sitting on the beach fishing. This was done from a photo taken the weekend before the first Covid-19 lockdown. On the day the photo was taken she had all of her extended family around her and she says it was a great day. Moments like this Kathryn can draw from emotion and memory as well as the landscape.

Dragon: bright and dramatic, painted in Resene Aluminium from the metallics range, Resene Beyond, Resene Buttercup, Resene Kamikaze, Resene Ironsand and Resene Mondo.

She is glad she enjoyed this moment with family when little did they know the lockdown was right around the corner. Having captured these moments in pictures, Kathryn had a lot to draw on over the lockdown and was able to enjoy her time painting and expressing herself through her art.

Van Gogh Loo: very colourful and artistic, Kathryn used Resene Lucky Point, Resene Limeade, Resene Buttercup, Resene Red Berry, Resene Black and Resene White. From the metallics range, Kathryn used Resene Silver Steel, Resene Magnetic and Resene Aluminium.

Her favourite colours right now are Resene Lucky Point and Resene Aluminium from the Metallics range, which feature in a lot of her work, especially the Van Gogh inspired pieces. 

“I have always used Resene and just love the colour range and texture the products provide,” says Kathryn.

“The availability of the products and the size of the pots are perfect, along with the brushes Resene recommends and any advice they give me, is just fabulous.” 

Contact Kathryn Ritchie at Kathritchie03@gmail.com

Published: 01 Dec 2022