Our time to shine 1

Now is the perfect time to capture the awesome beauty of one of my favourite Australian trees. Flowering gums come in so many forms, they are an endless source of inspiration. I worked on a series of four this week (more coming) standing next to the abundantly flowering gum tree in my backyard, sketching the naturally flowing lines of the leaves and flowers. The tree was alive with bees, caterpillars and even a couple of wattle birds called in. I create these works to express and share the real pleasure I get from spending time observing these natural beauties. This work is acrylic on a flat canvas panel (20.3 x 25.4cm) and requires framing, which you can easily order on checkout or arrange yourself, once you receive the work.

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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.