Kate Shaw is a Melbourne-based artist who creates landscapes that are simultaneously sublime and toxic.  Formed out of ‘paint pours’ and collage techniques, her landscapes capture the transcendent beauty of nature.  She has had many solo and group exhibitions and currently her work is touring to museums throughout Asia as part of the Asialink curated exhibition Vertigo.

In this episode, Kate discusses:

-How she got to the point she is at today in her artistic career.

-The comfort and structure that a part-time job can provide while pursuing your creative passion on the side.

-How nothing stifles creativity more than having to worry about necessities like food and shelter.

-The power in finding a job that feeds into your creative passion.

-The importance of relaxing the body and silencing the mind in order to get to homeostasis.

-Tapping into the creative energy of the universe so that you can more effectively communicate with people around the world.

-Getting out into nature and unplugging from the daily demands of being a professional artist.

-The surprise that many artists and creative people have as they discover that by becoming a professional artist, they are also becoming a small business.

-The connection with nature in her art.

-What people can do in their everyday lives to help climate change.

-How she developed and invented her style.

-The resistances that occur when you are inventing something new.

-The strategy of putting something that you are struggling with aside until the next day.

-How asking too many opinions of your work gives your creative power away.

Kate’s Final Push will inspire you to JUST DO IT!

Quotes:

“I find if the body is relaxed and the mind is relaxed, that’s when the creativity really opens up.”

“I really believe in flow rather than push.”

“It’s time and money.  That’s all we have in our lives is time.”

“If I’ve been working on a painting for a long time and I don’t know what to do next, I just leave it and come back the next day.  There’s something about fresh eyes.”

“You don’t want to be asking too many opinions because then you’re just giving all that away.  You, yourself, actually know the best.”

“I think a lot of times people are just looking for reassurance because they are afraid.  But they actually know themselves if it’s good or not good.”

Links mentioned:

The Ethical Guide to the Anthropocene (The Guardian)

Nestle and Deforestation (Greenpeace)

Connect with Kate:

Website / Facebook / Instagram