Katherine Irish Works

Katherine knew she was an artist at an early age, drawing and painting throughout high school. Katherine majored in art at DePauw University from 1971-1975. She studied with Stephen Greene at the Tyler School of Art in Rome in 1973. She also interned with Willard Midgette in New York City in 1974. Katherine was a frequent visitor to many of the art museums and galleries in New York, Chicago, and throughout Europe. Katherine returned to New York in 1976, and received a master’s degree in art therapy in 1979, from Pratt Institute. During this time, she painted and drew many of the people she encountered in a homeless shelter, on the subways and streets of New York. She befriended members of the Street Painters, including Myron Heise, and attended art critiques in the Bowery. She also took a number of classes at the School of Visual Arts, Pratt Institute, and the Art Students League. She was a frequent visitor to New York galleries and New York’s many magnificent art museums. Katherine’s first one woman show was in New York at the Marie Pellicone Gallery in 1982. Absorbing works by Rothko, Vermeer, Rembrandt, Appel, Van Gogh, Monet, Turner, Michelangelo and Botticelli was formative.

Katherine’s desire to live rurally and paint New Mexico landscapes grew after taking a three month painting trip to New Mexico in 1981. She moved to Taos, New Mexico in 1982 and began to paint skyscapes. Marc Bergerson, a New York artist, affiliated with Abstract Expressionist painters, taught her the craft of painting from 1985-1990. She exhibited in galleries in Taos, Scottsdale and participated in many of the juried and invitational shows in Taos, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Art Rental Gallery. Katherine was the curator for the first three Spirit in Art shows held during the Taos Spring Arts Celebration in 1985, 1986 and 1987.

When Katherine’s son, Nathan, was born in 1988, Katherine began a hand painted box business. She sold her hand painted boxes across the United States, Canada and Sweden from 1989-1997. In 1997, she earned a Masters in Counseling and works as a therapist in private practice and as a school counselor.

Katherine began working seriously in pastels in 2002. She continued to find inspiration in New Mexico landscapes, the cobalt blue skies and brilliant reds and greens found in plants and geological formations. Sunsets incorporate many abstract patterns as well as beautiful layers of color. She thinks of herself as a “Skywatcher”.  Katherine has always thought of herself as a colorist, finding Monet and Turner to be an important inspiration. She has been interested in the portrayal of light through color. She utilizes museum quality sanded pastel papers and soft pastels. 

Katherine is an award winning artist who regularly participates in national juried and invitational shows. She was awarded Masters Circle by the International Association of Pastel Societies and Distinguished Pastelist with the New Mexico Pastel Society and the Arizona Pastel Artist’s Association. . She is a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America, the Pastel Society of the West Coast, the Pastel Society of the Southwest, and a Member of Excellence of the Southeastern Pastel Society. Katherine joined Albert Handel’s Mentor Program and has appreciated the growth that she has experienced under his tutelage. Her work was on the cover and featured in the August 2015 issue of the Pastel Journal.

However, what Katherine is attempting to communicate is found in the looking, not the words. Perhaps you will find a sense of quiet, of peace, and wonder at our natural world in her work.