Celebrating water, air, foliage and sun: the pristine abstract panels of Kate Taylor are beautiful jewel-like artworks either singly - as the focal point of an interior - or collectively, in one of her trademark tessellating displays. Sometimes revealing authentic birch wood grain; at others demonstrating rich impasto or deep resin lacquer, Taylor's works grace the homes of collectors worldwide.

In our exclusive interview, we welcome Kate Taylor as she tells of her inspirations and technique. A fascinating study of an artists who draws inspiration from nature and travel - and indeed paints on the go!

What was the inspiration to make your box-canvases out of Birch?

It started out being practical…I was resining my pieces and as they became larger, the canvas would sag. It took a while to figure out how to use the panel – I work with a palette knife so the hard knife on the hard surface took some getting used to. Once I started to really see the panels, I fell in love with the woodgrain of the Baltic Birch. I have my panels made for me so that they have really interesting and clean wood grain but, surprisingly, it is still unpredictable in terms of the level of saturation of colour and, therefore, how dramatic the grain is. Once I finish staining the wood (takes about 4-5 very thin coats to build up the colour and not obliterate the woodgrain), I step back and figure out what I want to cover and what I want to retain. This often inspires the composition. I love this idea or unpredictability…how will the stain cover, what does the wood look like, how will the composition and the background play together…..

You’ve used nude wood as well as resin coated pieces, how do you pick which finish to go with? And which is your favourite?

For me, this has to do with the level of energy in a piece. The pieces that are not resined seem a bit more calm and tranquil whereas the resined pieces seem to have a higher level of energy. I often resin pieces that are turquoise and blue – I like the idea of capturing the essence of the water – in the colour and also in the reflections. Honestly, I have a love/hate relationship with resin – I love the super saturated colour and the contemporary look; I feel like it captures the viewer and makes them a part of the piece but it is not easy to work with. It is a stern taskmaster….everything needs to be measured and timed very precisely to ensure it is almost perfect every time. Because I work very intuitively, I often say I have to take off my artist’s hat and put on my scientist hat when I do the resin. My favourite? It seems to be the piece I just finished – resin or not!