The Guardian

"The Guardian doesn’t speak. She just watches. Green eyes, sharp with memory, with questions, with the weight of knowing too much. Her Kākā rests quietly against her chest - never tethered, just loyal. Their bond is older than language.

The feathered, woven cloak is soft and warm against her skin, shielding her from the rugged New Zealand elements.
Huia feathers catch the light, a quiet sign of her mana.
She stands still… not in fear, but in discernment.
Not everyone is meant to pass… And she’s deciding, right now, if you can be trusted."

Artwork comes with a Certificate of Authenticity signed by Kati Garrett Filho. It has been sealed with a protective archival coat and is ready to be framed and added to your collection.

I sell my work unframed because I feel it’s personal and find that most people would prefer to choose a frame that suits their decor. The artwork is 42 cm (h) x 42cm (w) including an approx 1cm border.

NB: Unframed artwork comes wrapped in tissue, rolled with great care and placed in a mailing tube. Once received, remove the art as soon as possible from the tube to allow it to rest. Professional framing behind UV protective Art Glass (or Acrylic) is recommended.

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I’m Kati Garrett Filho, a self-taught artist based on the Sunshine Coast, Australia. I work across two quiet but emotionally resonant practices:

~ hyper-realistic charcoal portraits of women dressed in midcentury elegance

~ detailed paintings of birds perched on midcentury ceramics, rendered on paper or board. 

My work is rooted in nostalgia. Whether drawing from a bygone era's poised aesthetic or everyday objects' quiet endurance, I explore the emotional weight that lingers in stillness, memory, and softness. I’m drawn to the slow pace of handcraft, to times when care was etched into the surface of things. 

Each of my portraits evolve through delicate, deliberate strokes — charcoal gently sculpted into realism, revealing not just a likeness, but mood, atmosphere, and story. Often I write short narrative vignettes to accompany each figure - like fragments from a novel - inviting the viewer into an imagined world.

The birds and pots are intricate works painted with great detail to capture reflections and mood.

For me, art is a way to hold space for beauty, stillness and the small things that outlast their time.  My work speaks to collectors who value craftsmanship, subtlety, and the layered storytelling that lives in materials and memory.

(For further details please visit my portfolio site www.katigarrettfilho.art )