Kate Shaffer | October Show

Kate Shaffer

Kate Shaffer

Artist Biography

Born in Cortland, NY Kate has always been passionate about creating. She fell in love with art in High School and dreamed of being an artist. She met her husband in college and got married. Kate had a short time with pyrography and did plaques for Harley Davidson and some local restaurants. She continued to draw while she raised her three daughters. Kate learned to sew in college and later spent many years designing costumes for local theater and dance groups

Once she got to the empty nest stage in life, Kate decided now was the time to follow her dream of being a working artist. There have been many sources for her art education. College classes, books, art tutorials, and obsessive experimentation have afforded her a varied base of knowledge.

In the five years since becoming a full-time artist, Kate has shown her work in several local art shows where she won an honorable mention for “Bird Song”, “Landscape Triptych” and “Water Lilies”. She has also exhibited at Gallery Sitka in Fitchburg with her acrylic Wave paintings. Her work is in several collections locally. Regis College, Gallery Sitka, and Zavo in NYC hosted her Women of Jazz series.

Lately, Kate has returned to her music inspiration to paint the colors and emotions of Classical music.

Artist Statement
Music and color inspire me. As I listen to music, colors emerge and begin to dance in my mind. Each type of music requires different colors. Even within one genre, the colors can be quite different depending on the mood of the music. This series deals with calming classical music. The colors reflect the peacefulness I want to evoke.

Abstraction allows me to express the emotions that motivate my painting. Colors and movement give voice to those emotions. I develop a language as I progress through the paintings and hope you can feel the emotion and see the music as I do.
I choose my materials for the great freedom of expression they allow. Acrylics dry quickly, but can also be worked wet in wet for blended colors. Brushes, palette knives, even my hands – each tool offers a different mark and a different form of expression. As I work wet in wet, the colors naturally begin to blend and layers of color are introduced. Marks reveal under-layers and lines. Color becomes my partner as I dance across the canvas with the music.

The marks I make emphasize the movement of the music. The colors combine to create the feeling. They mix and mingle as the notes do, creating harmony. Let your eyes move to the rhythm of each piece.

Listen to the music that inspired these pieces with Kate’s playlist below.

Want to see Kate’s work in person?
Gallery Sitka will be having an open house on
Saturday, October 16th from 11 AM – 1 PM.

All attendees at the open house must wear masks.
We require all guests to be fully vaccinated.
If you are not vaccinated, please book an appointment for another viewing date.

Can’t make the open house?
Schedule an appointment to visit the gallery —
Kate’s work will be on display to the public starting October 18th.

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