Kate Mikkelsen

I’m Kate Mikkelsen, art school drop-out and watercolor painter based in Shorewood, Wisconsin.

Currently, my subjects are relaxed landscapes, local waterways, and expressive trees using watercolor on heavy Arches brand watercolor paper. A majority of my watercolor paintings in 2023 & 2024 are images of trees; cropped and simplified views of their branches executed in bold color combinations. I have no idea why the beautiful branch shapes are so captivating to me, but I’m sure it’s deeply psychological.

I began using watercolor a few years ago for its convenience in a house with young children. Then I got lost in stacks of watercolor technique books and soon I had to have a tube of every gorgeous, luminous color ever made. Sorry kids, this is my studio room now. I especially enjoy when a picture I created touches someone else—opening a memory, a feeling or even just an affection for the colors.