Hi I’m Katia,

I am a botanical artist with a passion for watercolor and oil painting.

Creating botanical paintings brings me peace and a profound joy and allows me to be in contact with the beauty of nature every single day.

My goal is to capture that beauty in my paintings, to bring people the same peace and joy.

I was born in sunny Sicily and I grew up in my grandfather’s farm, surrounded by all sorts of animals and with a vast expanse of luscious fields as my playground. No wonder I love nature and all its creatures!

This love is reflected in my botanical paintings and designs which often display floral themes, animals, and insects.

I have always been creative and as a child I would spend hours playing with crayons or watercolors, or making collages with colorful paper or even leaves and dried flowers. However, as an adult I let my brain decide over my heart and ended up pursuing a “sensible”, secure job (which of course wouldn’t have anything to do with art… don’t artists starve?)

So when it came to choose a university degree I chose Microbiology and my artistic creativity was left in a dark drawer to gather dust.

I ended up working as a scientist for about 10 years. Sometimes, during this long period of time, I would pick up a brush to try and make some art, but it was difficult to do anything creative in little snippets of time here and there. Probably my main block was also the feeling that whatever I painted would be a waste of time…

So I carried on with a job that gave me no joy, day after day, letting it suppress my creativity little by little. I was in the famous dark tunnel and looking for that eluding light.

But, one day, when I was 45, I though enough was enough and I enrolled in the Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh (RBGE) Certificate course and graduated with Distinct in Botanical Illustration.

In 2020 I quit my day job and became a full time artist. Since then I’ve been painting and learning and loving my new life. In 2020 I also went back to Sicily after 17 years spent in the UK.

I’ve also become an online teacher (with courses on Skillshare) because I have finally  found a passion that gets me out of bed in the morning with excitement for the creative day ahead and I want to share that passion with others, because no one should have to give up their creative dreams!

Do have a look through my art portfolio, I am open to collaborations and to licensing opportunities. If you’re interested in a custom piece and/or working together please fill out the form on my contact page, or drop me an email and I’ll be in touch soon!

 Lets stay connected!