Katherine Joyce: Illustrator

Illustrators like Katherine Joyce take the phrase, “a picture is worth a thousand words” to a whole new level. She creates vibrant artwork filled with flora and fauna, imbued with her own personal whimsical touches. Even in her work that does not showcase plants at the forefront, Katherine is always keeping them in mind. 

“I use plants in all of my illustrations, basically. If there's not plants or nature, there's a point to that. I always think that an illustration that doesn't have plants in nature is kind of a dystopic picture.”

Living in Arizona gave Katherine a lot of inspiration, particularly through cacti, that she couldn’t find in other places’ native plants. 

“I love the plants in Arizona, even though they're hostile, sometimes they're...a little bit less friendly than other places, but they're very beautiful. They have a lot of distinct characteristics about them. They're not just green big leaves.”

Just like how it can be easy to overlook the small intricacies in plants, it can be easy to miss the atmospheric details that artists like Katherine will spend copious amounts of time on. 

“I will spend hours drawing just like the flowers in a tree that's in the background of the picture that has very little significance to it overall, except for creating just that emotional atmosphere for the viewer.”

The birth of Katherine’s son influenced the tone of her work, wanting to create fun and whimsical scenes for people to connect with. She’s passed her love of nature down to her son as well, just as it was passed on to her by her family. 

“We have plants inside our house, outside our house so that we…appreciate the natural world…I hope he keeps that as he grows up, that he keeps that connection to nature and that enjoyment.”

Visit Katherine’s website for more detail about her work! Or check her out on Instagram @katherinejoyce.illustration
A film by Peter Fuhrman.