Kate Bentley

Country Cousins

Kate Bentley RSW RI SWA is a painter and elected member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour, The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour, and the Society of Women Artists, with over 30 years of professional practice. Her initial training as a Theatre Designer and Sculptor significantly shapes her artistic voice — she is a painter of life who draws inspiration from her location and landscape, employing en plein air sessions and life drawing to develop her narrative paintings. Her work demonstrates a deep engagement with mark-making, layering, and textures, with themes that emerge from life experiences both past and present. She has received numerous awards including the 2025 Catto Gallery Award, the 2025 Richard Plincke RI Prize for Colour, and the 2016 HRH Princess Michael of Kent Watercolour Award, and has exhibited extensively across major UK institutions and internationally.