We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Katherine Downey Miller a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Katherine, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
I think the most meaningful project I’ve worked on as an environmentally concerned artist has been my Wildfire Paintings
I began working on these paintings in 2019. I started paying attention to Wildfires when I heard about people jumping into the Australian forests and rescuing Koala Bears from the fires on the news. As an East Coaster this all seemed very far away from me. Soon after, very close friends of mine moved to Oakland, CA from Brooklyn, NY. While the fires were going on, they would send me pictures of amazingly orange, fiery skies. Although these images and what I was hearing and seeing on the news was horrific, the images from this natural disaster were beautiful.
I created a series of paintings that were based on the Wildfires which are now global and in the East Coast as well, called, “Wildfire/ Wildheart”. I worked to distill from these horrific images, the energy and the beauty of the flames, approaching the subject as a study of color and luminous form. These abstract interpretations of flames are informed as well by my interest in Kintsugi, the Japanese practice of mending broken pottery with liquid gold that repairs, “the broken.”
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’ve always focused on my artwork since I was in high school. I knew I was going to be a studio arts major in college. I attended Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY for Studio Art with a concentration in Painting and a minor in Art History. I then took a year off. During that year, I ski bummed in Aspen, Colorado while applying to graduate school for my MFA. I ended up at the School of Visual Art’s(SVA) Illustration as Visual Essay Program in NYC. After graduate school, I was a TA in Painting and Drawing at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass, Colorado. This was a very special place in the mountains, where I learned a lot about teaching as I was able to assist very well known artists. After that, I moved to Florence, Italy on a teaching scholarship in Painting and Drawing from Studio Arts College International(SACI) where I taught American abroad students. After that, I moved back to the States and have been focusing on my practice of painting and teaching ever since.
I create original, one of a kind abstract landscape paintings that are inspired by and focused on anything to do with nature. I also teach private and group workshops in my studio in Somerville, MA and art retreats focusing on Landscape to Abstraction abroad.
The problem I solve for my clients concentrates on the idea that people need a respite from life, from work, from parenting, from the world! By living with one of my paintings in one’s space, I hope to heal people’s mind and give them a rest as well as a mental health day.
Choosing a career in the arts is definitely challenging, but it is rewarding and along the way, one meets many wonderful people. Through my teaching, I’m able to give people a view into the creative process and self expression. I’m leading a Abstract En Plein Air painting retreat in the South of France in 2026 through www.paintawaytours.com. Please contact them if you are interested in taking a painting workshop abroad with me. If you are interested in a one of a kind, original painting, please contact me at www.katherinedmiller.com. I work on commission as well.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
It’s taken me years of learning and trying to find resources to know what I know now. I wish I had known about career advancement opportunities for emerging artists earlier.
I would say, support artists, Buy their work so they can still keep on working. Being an artist is like any other profession.
Artists tend to be independent thinkers, highly expressive and sensitive to their surroundings. They add to any community and make it grow.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.katherinedmiller.com
- Instagram: @kdowneymiller
- Linkedin: Katherine Miller
