Kate Birrell

About Kate Birrell

I am a Melbourne based painter who draws upon the life that unfolds around me for subject.

My works are genre in style with a strong interest in portraiture.

The footy, the races, the markets; families at home, families outside the home. Faces older,faces younger. For some reason it seems endlessly fascinating, the drama of everyday life.

I am intrigued by the 15th century works of Hieronymus Bosch for his use of brilliant color and fantastic figurative images.

The genre paintings of artists such as Pieter Brueghel the elder, William Hogarth are interesting for their composition and narratives; Honore Daumier for his touching portrayals of human character; and Edgar Degas for the way he eliminated unnecessary content are to name but a few inspiring artists of the past.

Meanwhile the more contemporary influences are those of the figurative artists associated with 'The School of London'; Francis Bacon, Howard Hodgkin,David Hockney Lucien Freud and others who have maintained a predominantly figurative practise in contrast to many of their peers over the last few decades.

It is this mix of both traditional and contemporary elements, opposing forces within the one space, that is appealing and one that I am still exploring.

For more on Kate Birrell see
www.katebirrellpaintings.com