Artist Statement

Based in Wimborne, Dorset, Katie Bourne creates contemporary oil paintings inspired by the county’s expansive skies, shifting light, rural landscape and beautiful interiors . While rooted in observation, her work is ultimately driven by an instinctive and enduring passion for colour.

For Katie, colour is not descriptive but expressive — a way of communicating atmosphere, movement, and emotional resonance. Working primarily in oils, she builds vibrant, layered surfaces where bold yet harmonious palettes capture the energy of rolling hills, coastal paths, and intimate interior scenes. Her confident, gestural brushwork brings rhythm and vitality to each composition, balancing structure with spontaneity.

With a background in illustration, her work retains a strong sense of composition and visual storytelling, yet it is colour that leads the narrative — guiding the eye, shaping mood, and evoking the fleeting qualities of place.

Artists Biography

Katie Bourne is a full-time contemporary painter based in Wimborne, Dorset.

She studied Illustration at Cambridge School of Art, graduating with a BA (Hons), before establishing a successful children’s wallpaper design business, which she ran for over 15 years. Designing narrative-led surface patterns refined her instinct for colour harmony, composition, and storytelling — elements that now underpin her fine art practice.

Following a pivotal transition from design to painting, Katie developed a distinctive contemporary landscape style characterised by expressive brushwork and vibrant colour.

She exhibits regularly across Dorset and Wiltshire and will be showing work at Dorset Art Weeks and at Fisherton Mill, Salisbury, this August. Her paintings are held in private collections across the UK.

Katie is the founder of the Dorset Artists Guild and organiser of Wimborne Plein Air, reflecting her ongoing commitment to supporting professional artists and strengthening Dorset’s creative community.

“Colour is at the heart of everything I paint. It allows me to express the mood and movement of a landscape beyond what is simply seen. Through layered pigment and expressive marks, I seek to capture the spirit and fleeting beauty of everyday scenes — inviting viewers to pause, breathe, and reconnect with the world around them.”