meet the artist

Katie McKinnon's ethereal paintings and textile designs of Australian land and seascapes, address the immensity, fragility, eccentricity and resilience of the natural world.

Her extensive travels - from a happily nomadic childhood moving around Australia's eastern seaboard, to a decade living and working in Switzerland - ignited her curiosity and appreciation of the unique Australian landscape.

In her colour-driven creative practice, Katie works intuitively beyond the brush, using random mark making, pouring, collage and drawing techniques, often experimenting with found objects, natural pigments and organic materials. Seeking with every mark to communicate her optimism, deep gratitude, and sense of awe and wonder in nature. Katie finds particular joy in making art outside in the bush or by the ocean.

Katie has studied contemporary painting at the Victorian College of the Arts, and her paintings and sculpture have been exhibited in numerous group and solo shows. Katie's work is held in private and corporate collections in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the UK, Europe and North America.

Katie founded THE EDITIONS in 2015 as a platform for her limited edition prints and textile designs. She has since diversified her practice to design two sold out collections of NZ wool and art silk rugs for The Rug Collection, and developed a range of weather resistant, outdoor murals for residential, commercial and public art projects. Katie continues to collaborate with prominent brands and organisations, including most recently L'Oreal, Pureology and Ovarian Cancer Australia.

As a facilitator of creative workshops for teams, Katie loves to share her great passion and love for painting, and skills developed over 25 years of art practice. Katie regularly leads workshops with employees from Australia's largest consulting firms, tech companies, banks, charities, schools and small business, empowering participants to play, overcome common fears associated with creativity, develop imaginative thinking, improve wellbeing and find their creative flow.

Contact Katie

Photograph: Suzi Appel
Styling: Bee Czarnota