Kay Thurston

"I was born and bred in the inland city of Wagga Wagga. Here I attended both primary and high school. It was in high school that I discovered my love of art – in particular drawing. I was greatly inspired by my then art teacher, Lyn Redgrave.

 

Following high school, I commenced my Diploma of Teaching at the then Riverina College of Advanced Education (now known as Charles Sturt University). Upon graduation, I taught casually in several local schools, before leaving Wagga for a 2-year teaching stint in Ipswich, Queensland. Missing my hometown friends and family, I returned to Wagga, gaining several casual teaching blocks. During this time I married my husband Greg, and enrolled and completed my Bachelor of Education – graduating with distinction.

 

My first permanent teaching appointment was to the small school of Illabo Public. This coincided with the birth of my daughter Ellie, followed 5 years later by my son Dylan. My teaching career developed as I moved to several primary schools in both the Riverina and Wagga districts, gaining executive teacher roles and Assistant Principal roles. In 2007 I gained my first Principal role at Kapooka Public School. This was followed by Principal positions at Junee North and finally Lake Albert Public School, where after 38 years in education, I retired in 2021.

 

During these many, many years as an educator, my passion for art simmered away. After retiring in 2021 and moving to beautiful Port Macquarie, I finally had the time to reignite my artistic passion.

I am drawn to the beautiful nature around me, our native flora in particular. My works are primarily created on paper – using both white and black textured paper, however have work on large-scale canvases. I work with fine line pens, as well as posca paint pens, inks and acrylic paints. My works are heavily detailed, attempting to capture the incredible designs in nature. The majority of my art is black and white – I am strongly drawn to these two colours and the incredible shades that can be created using them. Every now and then I’ll add a pop of colour to add some variety to my pieces." - Kay Thurston

 

Check out Kay's Instagram page www.instagram.com/kaythurstonart/