I was born in Montreal, Canada, and now live in Toronto. My father was born near Galway, Ireland, and came to Canada in his 30s for work. When I was a child, we travelled back every few years to visit his family who lived throughout the country, and as far north as Carrick-on-Shannon. That tradition continued once I had my children and we returned every summer to visit my father, who had returned to live in Ireland.

I have had a fascination with the visual arts as long as I can remember. I loved drawing and painting as a child in school. We went away to a farm most weekends during the summer, and I had a lot of free time on my hands. I became very close to nature, and would observe and engage with the fields, the garden, the flowers, the insects…and I loved to draw and colour with any kind of Crayola product. I wasn’t in any lessons for art – I just enjoyed playful expression of the beauty that I found outdoors.

It all starts with nature – all the things in my life dissolve and the noise of everything dissipates. A new perspective is found. It is a form of meditation – a place where I feel connected with the universe and a part of something greater than myself.

There is no plan – I simply go out into nature, immerse all my senses and flow, and simply let things happen and draw.

Reading often shows up in my work – W.B. Yeats and J. O’Donohue are always at hand – as does music; a few years ago, I attended a Loreena McKennitt’s concert and it had an effect on my post-creative sessions. Her stage was full of purples, so lovely. Soon after, I noticed my art had touches of these colours in them; her music and stage show had become a part of me.

I have coined the term ‘synthesis art’ to represent my approach to combining analogue plein air drawings into digital layering and then after printing on canvas I paint them, or on paper I will create and paint and add text on the materials. I play with form and colour – pure play of composition, colour, light, movement, layering opacity – this often arises from the subconscious, where the magic happens. For me, combining those two methodologies highlights how we acquire knowledge about ourselves; understanding our history through new technologies gives us a deeper understanding of who we are as humans.

A good work of art is one that makes you feel something, that elicits a reaction whether you love it, or you hate it – it affects you in some deeper way.

 katemaura.com
@katemaura