For landscape artist Katherine Muir Miller, applying paint to canvas is actually the quickest part of the artistic process. Most of her time is spent visualizing the piece, testing in her mind’s eye how this colour or that perspective will change the ultimate effect. For the Perth-based artist and gallery owner, each painting tells a story, and colour can shift that story in both subtle and dramatic ways.
Miller’s fearless use of colour is part of a signature style that is catching the attention of buyers and art-lovers alike. Bold, textured brushstrokes give her work a three-dimensional impact, and while most of her paintings play with dark, vivid colour and contrast, when it’s called for she likes to challenge herself to use a limited palette to create a soft , tranquil effect.
Colour was an enriching presence in Miller’s life for years before she even began painting. Over many summers of travel across Canada with her husband and five children, she would soak up the landscapes they visited. “On all those long drives,” she recalls, “when the kids were bouncing with excitement and asking ‘How long until we get there?,’ I’d be staring out the window, thinking ‘I wonder how many shades of green there are in those trees?’ and trying to make every single one of them in my head.”
Many of Miller’s paintings are inspired by photos her children, now grown, send her from their own travels across Canada. For the artist, nothing is more satisfying than when someone’s face lights up with recognition as they look at a painting. “Someone says to me, ‘Is that the Yukon?’ and it is, even though there’s nothing you could put your finger on, specifically. They just feel it, they recognize it, it connects to their story of that place. Th at means everything.”
Katherine studied at the Ottawa School of Art and showcases her collection along with the work of guest artists and artisans in Perth at the Katherine Muir Miller Gallery. Th e gallery offers free consultation services as well as a “Bring My Art to You” service, where paintings can be brought to a client’s home or office before purchasing. In addition, Katherine is also available for commission work.
