About me
Hello! My name is Kaitlin and I am a wildlife and nature inspired painter living in Toronto. When I’m not sitting behind my easel you’ll find me reading, sculpting (which is a brand new interest for me!) and hiking. I try to spend as much time outdoors as I can as that fuels my creative process. Every painting is inspired by a moment spent exploring.
I started taking art classes at the age of ten where I got to express my interest in wildlife. If you want to go even further back, there are photos of me aged about 3 or 4 drawing on the walls with crayons… but that art class was the starting point for me and I guess I never wavered from that childhood passion. I went to an arts focused high school (Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts), and then I went on to Centennial College where I did two years in the Art Studio program. After that I pivoted and decided to further my education by getting my Bachelor of Science for Wildlife Biology and Conservation from the University of Guelph.
I’m not a full time artist
While I like to think that I paint a lot, I actually only paint in the evenings and on the weekends, as I have a full time job. I am very thankful that my work overlaps entirely with my love of wildlife and birds. I could not ask for a better intersection between working and being an artist.
Currently, I am the Volunteer and Campaigns Coordinator for FLAP Canada, a small charitable organization that is working to protect birds from a leading cause of death: collisions with glass. This means that I get to spend a lot of my work days rescuing injured birds and (hopefully!) helping to make a meaningful difference.
Process
Every painting starts as a moment in time, an experience out hiking, traveling or exploring. I carry my camera around with me religiously in the hopes that I stumble across something exciting, and I usually do. Some days I might be lucky enough to see some of my local deer, or a coyote, or some of the migrating songbirds will be really cooperative, hanging low in the trees. Other days it’s really photogenic fungi, or the fall colours or spring flowers, or the sun hitting the forest floor just right.
All of my paintings are based off of my own reference photos, and I now have a reference library of over 30,000 photos.
I work entirely in acrylics and typically paint on pine boards and canvas. When my paintings are done, I then hand-frame them using poplar.
Curriculum Vitae
Solo Shows
2016 - Kaitlin Brough, Peter Marsh Gallery, Scarborough, Ontario
Group Shows
2025 - Pelham Art Festival, Pelham, Ontario
2024 - Autumn Art Sale Fundraiser, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario
2024 - SCA 2024 Open International Juried Exhibition
2022 - Paint Ontario - Lambton Heritage Museum, Grand Bend, Ontario
2022 - Into the Wild - Fusion Art, Online, Global - Honourable Mention for “White Rhino”
2022 - International Women’s Day 2022 Group Show - Leslie Grove Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2021 - Society of Canadian Artists 2021 Open International Online Juried Exhibition Global
2020 - Endangered Art 4 Apes - Online Exhibition, Global
2020 - Kensington Market Art Fair, Toronto, Ontario
2020 - Whitby Art Show, Rotary Club of Whitby Sunrise, Whitby, Ontario
2020 - VAM 42nd Annual Juried Show of Fine Arts, Art Gallery of Mississauga, Ontario
2019 - Ontario Society of Artists 146th Open Juried Exhibition, John B. Aird Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2018 - 2018 Autumn Art Sale Fundraiser, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario
2016 - Kensington Market Art Fair, Toronto, Ontario
2016 - Kensington Market Art Fair, Toronto, Ontario
2014 - TAVES, Sheraton Centre, Toronto, Ontario
2014 - Trust Me I’m An Artist, Toronto Centre for the Arts, Toronto, Ontario
2014 - Eco Art, Gallery 1313, Toronto, Ontario
2013 - Art to the Power of 31, 31 Fine Art Centennial College Students at La Revolucion, Toronto, Ontario
2013 - All Visual Arts Programs at Centennial College Centre for Creative Communications, Toronto, Ontario
2012 - The Great Masters Art Show, Individual Panel, Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts, Toronto, Ontario
2011 - The Great Masters Art Show, Installation with two other students, Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts, Toronto, Ontario
2010 - The Great Masters Art Show, Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts, Toronto, Ontario
2010 - Student Exhibition at the Scarborough Hospital Art Gallery, Scarborough, Ontario
2009 - The Great Masters Art Show, Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts, Toronto, Ontario
Awards
2024 - Honourable Mention, CFA Artist of the year for “Big Buck”
2023 - Award for Merit, Kawartha Art Gallery, Radical Feathers for “Within the Herd”
2012 - Grade 12 Drawing and Painting Award, Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts
2012 - The Sirpa Christensen Drawing and Painting Award, Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts
2012 - Graduating Artist of the Year, Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts
2011 - 1st Place - Nikita Marner Award, Pulse 2011, Scarborough Arts Council, for “Under the Clouds”
2011 - Best Installation - Special Series Grade 11 (with two other students), The Great Masters Art Show
2011 - Digital Photography Award, The Great Masters Art Show
2010 - Best In Show , Grade 10, The Great Masters Art Show
2009 - Best in Show, Grade 9, The Great Masters Art Show
2008-2009 - 8th in Parks Canada’s Ecological Integrity Poster Contest for Ontario Grade 9 Students (out of 950)
Training and Education
2013 - 2014 - Diploma, Fine Arts Studio at Centennial College
2010 - Robert Bateman Master Artist Seminar, week long study at Hollyhock Educational Retreat Centre, British Columbia
2009 - 2012 - Special Series Visual Arts Program at Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts
2005 - 2010 - Scarborough Art School (Former Barishev Art School), Tasira Strimban (age 10-15)
2004 - Parks and Recs Art Class, Cedar Ridge Creative Centre (Age 9)
Media and Publications
2020 - British Vogue, Vogue’s Gallery, March 2020 Issue
2020 - British Vogue, Vogue’s Gallery, February 2020 Issue
2020 - British Vogue, Vogue’s Gallery, January 2020 Issue
2016 - Kensington Market Art Fair Video Interview, August 28
2009 - Surface and Symbol Newspaper , First Peek into the World of Art (The Bluffs Gallery)
Pelham Art Festival 2025
Autumn Art Sale 2024