Kate Harkins

Paintings of people and places

About Sales

Artist Information

I make paintings to reflect whatever, or whomever, I am marveling at.

Then the work winds up being a celebration of play, with materials and concepts. Landscapes go abstract quite quickly. Portraits from life or invented characters involve play with reality as well. Once created, the characters in the portraits seek to speak for themselves and participate in the conversation we are having now about the life and world we navigate and work to reinvent.

In the studio I am never an expert. I create my own imbalance, bewildering myself again and again to find a new expression of love in the portrait of the character I create.

I find that the more I play with a wider range of materials, like fabric, drawing, nail polish, and spray paint, the more the characters have room to enter and express themselves. I work in the abstract, making landscapes and portraits. I channel my sense of play and grab any and all materials to create paintings that surprise the viewer and convey my passion about the subject.

Based in Seattle, I am represented by Columbia City Gallery and Core Gallery and have been an Artist in Residence at the University of Washington Medical Center. I am a member of the artists’ group Hole In the Air.



Kate Harkins