About the Artist
Hi
I'm Kay Satherley of Kay Designs NZ, New Zealand handmade.
I paint New Zealand birds and icons on silk.
They are
*Printed onto aluminium/acrylic for Outdoor, Garden Art panels
*Hand Painted Silk Scarves, each one painted by hand.
* Wearable silk Art.
*Original Photography
My Silk Journey began back in 2010.
My sister who paints silk in Switzerland kept saying I should paint on silk as I was a struggling artist. She thought it might be easier for me to sell silk painting, so I eventually got the hint! And it worked!!.
"Satherley Silks" was started in July 2011, and later became "Kay Designs NZ". I have been painting all my life. I studied art under Louise Henderson at the Auckland Society of Arts and specialised in art at NorthShore Teacher's College.
I have exhibited and sold in Orewa, at Kaipara Coast Sculpture Gardens, at the then Whitecliff Galleries in Parnell and the Kitchener Street Gallery, Auckland, and in Switzerland.
I am now applying my skills to painting on silk a truly exciting technique which I love for the richness of colour. It is always presenting surprises as you work, the blending of colours and there is that bit of freedom involved as the dyes are affected by different temperatures and humidity. Once I realised this after some disasters, I could start to make it work to my advantage.
I have hand painted and sold well over five thousand pieces including silk scarves, cushions and wall hangings and now the Outdoor Art Panels.
I started painting detailed bird paintings in March 2017 and after a lot of trial and error they are now being successfully printed onto aluminium for hanging out doors or indoors. UV sunproof inks are used and they are gloss laminated and are full waterproof.
Holes can be drilled in the corners and then screwed onto walls, fences etc in exposed sites.
My workspace is a large rustic shed, fairly cold in winter but that actually works better with the dyes becoming enriched on the silk when the air is damp. It isn’t a precious space so the fact that I make messes doesn’t matter!, it is the ideal environment for my creative process. Inspired by my garden and natural surroundings in rural north Auckland
Beauty in nature is always uplifting and expressing it in my paintings brings me joy. My garden and the beach give me a motivational lift. I have a passion for our birds and the beach which I love painting.
Silk is hypoallergenic so can be worn safely by allergy sufferers. It is a natural fibre so it breathes and keeps you COOL in summer and because it is an efficient insulator it provides non bulky thermal WARMTH in winter.
SCARF EASY CARE.
Warm hand wash , towel dry and iron damp to give the best lustre to the fabric. A reasonably hot iron can be used and it is best ironed on the reverse side especially when gold and silver paints (gutta) have been used.