Kay Thurston was born and bred in the inland city of Wagga Wagga. It was in high school that she discovered her love of art – in particular drawing, with her major work featuring native fauna and flora selected as part of the Art Express in 1979.

As a teacher, executive and school principal – a career spanning some 38 years, as well as a mum to two beautiful children, Kay’s personal artistic pursuits were well & truly left on the back-burner, simmering away as she shared her skills with her many students.

After retiring in 2021 and moving to beautiful Port Macquarie, Kay finally had the time to reignite her artistic passion. Kay began attending classes at Drawn to Art under the guidance of local artist Jane Whitfield. Jane gave her the courage to spread her wings, pursue her artistic dreams and be brave enough to share her art with the public.

A self-taught and emerging artist, Kay has exhibited at several galleries – Canvas Momentz, Sunset Framing & Gallery (Summer & Autumn shows), Kempsey Coastline Art Hub and more recently a solo exhibition at Wauchope Gallery. She recently joined the Hastings Valley Fine Art Association, with several works on display there. Kay also has several works on display at The Propagation Station in North Haven. Kay also regularly donates artworks to local charities for fundraising.

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"I am extremely grateful for the incredible support of these local businesses & to the Port Macquarie community who have supported my art."

Kay is drawn to the beautiful nature around us, our native flora in particular. Her works are primarily created on paper – using both white and black textured paper. She has also worked on both small and large-scale canvases. She works with fine line pens, as well as posca paint pens, inks, gouache and acrylic paints. Kay’s works are highly detailed, attempting to capture the incredible designs in nature. While the majority of her art is black and white, she is always evolving her techniques, recently adding alcohol inks to her repertoire.