The Artist
Kathryn Hunt Giovinazzo
Philadelphia · Kaua‘i
"I've been painting for as long as I can remember — first as a student, then as a teacher guiding others, and now simply as someone who finds joy in capturing nature on paper and canvas."
For more than forty years, Kathryn taught art at an upscale private school in the Philadelphia area, shaping generations of students before returning to her own work full-time in retirement.
Her specialty is botanical art — watercolor and colored pencil drawings in the centuries-old tradition of scientific illustration. Each piece begins with patient observation: a clipping brought back from the garden, an arboretum, or a damp morning's walk in the woods, then weeks of careful refinement at the studio desk.
The Florilegium
National Tropical Botanical Garden, Hawai‘i
Kathryn is a contributing member of the NTBG.org — a community of botanical artists who document the rare and endangered flora of the Hawaiian islands. Her plates are held in the organization's permanent collection.
Every February or March she returns to Kaua‘i for four to six weeks of fieldwork, drawing and painting alongside other Florilegium artists. The Hawaiian work has come to define this chapter of her practice.
The Practice
"I start each painting the way a gardener starts each season — slowly, patiently, and with care."
Every piece is one-of-a-kind. Some are painted at the home studio outside Philadelphia, others in greenhouses, arboretums, or on location in Hawai‘i. When a work finds a new home, she hopes it brings the same sense of peace and connection to nature she feels while making it.
- Education
- MFA, UC Irvine
- Based in
- Philadelphia, PA
- Teaching
- Springside Chestnut Hill Academy,
Philadelphia, PA - Residencies
- NTBG, Kalāheo, Kaua‘i