Kate
Bedell is an Irish Watercolour Artist who has just returned to the outskirts of Dublin, Ireland after 7 years in India. She graduated from Dun Laoghaire School of Art and Design, Ireland, in 1984, with a Distinction in Fine Art. In 1998 she was made a member of the Watercolour Society of Ireland. She has done several solo shows in Ireland and India, and has exhibited with the Royal Hibernian Academy of Ireland. “Although I majored in oil painting in Art College, I developed a passion for watercolours while on a painting holiday in Cornwall. The fluidity and spontaneity of the paint gave me just the right technique to paint the misty, ethereal landscapes and harbours of the Cornish countryside. I liked most
of all the crooked roofs and mullioned windows of the fishermen’s old houses. The effect of the watercolour paint was perfect for suggesting a mysteriousness to these old, perhaps haunted places. With watercolour I felt as if I could make my subjects come to life. Once started, there was no going back and my watercolour painting developed through constant experimentation which I
then taught in workshops. I copied many different artists’ styles and techniques in order to show my students how certain effects were done, and in the process I widened my own painting vocabulary. After almost 10 years of teaching and in between having children, I started painting a series of sunflowers. The shapes, colours and textures of these amazing flowers provided wonderful material to develop the medium further. Not only that, but I started using the
sunflower to portray themes of the life cycle and link it to the natural cycles of women, fertility and birth (see “Eternal Cycles”). While painting the images I was concerned with the metaphorical cycle of birth, death and rebirth that we, as human beings, undergo in the journey of our lives. In the process of these paintings, I referred back to figurative images I used in Art College, showing the female form breaking out of her
“Shell” (see “Breaking Through” - Exhibited in the R.H.A.) My preoccupation with the female form comes from an innate affinity with women of course, but I am also interested in the side of the female psyche that is generally not shown to the world but remains hidden. This intuitive, psychic side of her is not usually accepted by religion, and even though women as people
have been emancipated and liberated in this “high tech” world, they rarely get to use their full potential in a predominantly male world. I wanted to bring out this part of the woman which is generally hidden. When I first went to India, I was inspired and fascinated by the colourful sarees. But more than just producing colourful images, what became evident in these first paintings
was the elusive side of women that I had tried to capture in my earlier work. I painted women turning their faces away and moving away from the picture, trying perhaps to get out of the frame. It was as if she was a ghost that you are not quite sure you have seen. Her magic remained elusive and intangible. The watercolour was a perfect medium for suggesting the aura around her, which emanated from her in much the same way as her saree floated around her body (see “Red”) In contrast to these “misty watercolour women” I also incorporated the fabulously rich textures of the crumbling walls and buildings in India. Their exposure to the elements of heat and rain produce a savage beauty which I find reflected in the women’s faces and hands. In this way, while my work touches on the ethereal it also
retains the sensual earthiness of the world. They say that India is the land of contrasts and I found it was true. But rather than paint the breathtaking beauty of the Taj Mahal and ignore the decaying buildings and the poverty, I found my passion in combining these two; the harsh reality of life in India, and the pure beauty and strength of its people.” 
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