It really all began in 2008 with a spontaneous trip to the ‘Botanica’ exhibition at Sydney’s Botanical Gardens, where I came across unbelievably realistic and detailed sketches and paintings of plants by botanical illustrators and artists.

As a child I always really enjoyed painting and loved experimenting with colours.  This love, which had laid dormant and neglected for so long, was sparked back into life by all of those photograph-like realistic paintings I viewed at the exhibition that day.  It was clear to me that I wanted to pick up my pencils and brushes and try again.  When I took part in a workshop concentrating on drawing and painting insects and was immediately hooked. Several years later what started as a calling became an occupation.

Born and raised in a place called Hof an der Saale, in the northern-most part of Bavaria, I grew up always surrounded by flowers. My mother’s florist shop was an early formative inspiration that remains strong to this day.

I spent my early career working in industry, initially in Germany and then over a decade in England and Australia. I returned to Germany in 2015, first to Bayreuth and since 2019 I’ve been living in my home town, Hof.

I received my initial training as a botanical artist in England where I studied under the late Stuart Lafford and, after completing additional advanced study, was appointed as a botanical art teacher at the Hereford College of Technology.

I am a Fellow member of the Society of Botanical Artists (SBA, England), the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) as well as the Hof/Saale Art Association.

If you would like to contact me please go to my webpage:

www.katjakatholing-bloss.com