Katrina Wallis-King

The newly-elected Pastel Society member tells STEVE PILL how bird nests, CBT training and willow charcoal have all played a part in her atmospheric mixed media art

- STEVE PILL

Katrina was born in Windsor in 1963 and raised in Norway. She completed a BA in Archaeology at University College London and spent a year studying art at the SACI College of Art and Design in Florence.

Alongside her later career as a counsellor, Katrina continued to paint and make prints in her free time, before making the decision to devote more time to her art in 2018. Now based in Bath, Somerset, she was elected to the Pastel Society this summer, after being selected for its last three annual exhibitions. www.katrinawallisking.art

How did you first develop your affinity with the landscape?

My mother is Norwegian, so I grew up there. I’ve got childhood memories of skiing, swimming in the fjords, going out hiking and all the different seasons of the year, so that obviously left an impression on me.

When did art become a more serious pursuit for you?

It wasn’t until more recently. In 2018, I was at a crossroads in life: I was in my mid-50s and I had a reasonable talent for art, but I’d never paid enough attention to it.

I’d dipped in and out of life drawing classes for years. I would do one a year, which doesn’t sound a lot, but it is when you’re working. Whenever I did one, I was in seventh heaven. I was working in drug and alcohol services, helping people reconnect with all the things that matter to them, things that would give value to their lives, and I suddenly thought: “Hang on, Katrina – what about you?”