About Kate Highsmith | Oil Painter Asheville, NC
Fine Art Oil Paintings Inspired by Place, Color & Life
Kate Highsmith is a painter based in Asheville, NC. She paints each piece on canvas in oil. Kate travels all over the world and the Carolinas to paint. In the past few years, she has traveled to places such as Greece, Spain, and Vietnam to capture the colorful vitality found in each location. Inspired by motherhood, her most current work explores different facets of being a person in a body, particularly a woman’s body.
Kate Highsmith’s Painting Process
Paintings begin with a handcrafted wooden stretcher, over which Kate stretches cotton canvas. Kate begins by painting a loose outline of the subject and then, using a bold, bright palette, makes definitive brushstrokes with crisp colors. Depending on weather and paint thickness, this first layer takes a few days to fully dry. Then it is ready for a second layer, which brings more detail and color. Typically, Kate works on each piece over 3-5 sessions. She then frames each painting, after which it is ready to go to its new home.
A Life Shaped by Art, Travel & Beauty
I spent my summers in incredible places, like the South of France, Italy, and St. Barts.
My father is also an artist. Growing up, my mom, older brother, and I would travel with him while he started paintings in different locations. These places delight the senses. Sometimes I smell something in the air and am pulled back to being 8 years old, eating a warm crepe filled with sugar and fresh lemon juice by the Seine.
I can now appreciate the influence this had on me as a person and an artist. The reverence for aesthetics and pleasure soaked into my soul. Surrounding ourselves with beauty and color is necessary. Art- in all things- drives us apart as humans. This inspires me to create, to dance with color, to stubbornly resist an increasingly muted world. I want to fight the monochrome standardization of our everyday spaces with richness and magic.
Why do I create? I create because it brings me joy. A joy I hope to share with others through my work.
Kate travels all over the world and the Carolinas to begin paintings on location.
“There is Beauty in the World” Macy Gray
Creating Joy Through Art Connect with Kate
Please get in touch with any questions. Or you can email me directly at katehighsmith@gmail.com. I love to do collaborative work and commissions.