Rediscover your feminine side with the watercolours of Katerina Kestemont

I have been creative ever since I was a child. I even knew at 12 that I wanted to become an artist. As for my parents it was not considered to be a real profession, my life took another direction.

So, I only drew and painted a little after work. I worked in different jobs, from being a waitress, to working in a bank, from cutting gemstones to being a massage therapist, in order to pay the bills.

But deep inside I was never really happy until the day I woke up and found myself. That day was also the same day I told my ex partner that I couldn’t live with someone who doesn’t love me. At that time we had spent 19 years together. The first years were good, doing gem-shows together, and enjoying road trips through the US.

And then slowly the façade crumbled, everything I did was wrong, not good enough. He put me down constantly, talked badly about me in front of other people. But I clung on, hoping that if I changed enough, I would be loved. If I got it exactly right he would never leave. If I helped him even more, building up his company, he would be grateful.

I became small.

UNTIL I WOKE UP and I left him in the summer of 2011.

I wish I could say it was all glitter and unicorns afterwards, but it took me years not to feel sad, not to feel I had failed.

2016! Ahhh it was the year of discovery.

In a second hand store, I received 6 seasons of the TV show “Supernatural”, as a gift. That same evening I watched it. Never ever! My emotions had been hit so hard. I cried my heart out, (big healing sobs.) 

Through the show I made online friends, and I started drawing and painting again! It was amazing to rediscover. Creating fan art in graphite pencil allowed me to connect with other fans of my favourite shows, but somehow I felt something was missing, a way to express my soul’s calling.

That’s why on June 22nd, 2018, I decided to draw a doodle, every day, for a WHOLE year. What were my intentions? Getting better at drawing, getting faster and becoming more secure with this line of work.

What I discovered was that I love drawing women’s bodies and learning about the softness, the roundness, the deep connections women have with earth and life. Women’s bodies represent something deeply spiritual to me, a link to the meaning of why we are here, a reaching for our souls intention.

At one point, these women started whispering their stories to me, wanting their stories to be revealed, and poems were born. At that moment I really got inspired by Frida Kahlo, as if she was speaking through me, and encouraging me to be braver, to go even further with my art. To speak even louder to bring the feminine essence back into this world.

Through my art work I want to inspire women to step into their power, to awaken the beautiful divine feminine energy that resides in each of us. To help bring balance into a world where the masculine energy has suppressed the feminine essence for too long.

It was quite the journey, and some days the inspiration to draw didn’t come easily. But I never wavered, no matter what… even when traveling, or when I was sick or just plain tired, I still made a drawing daily.

I never prepared them in advance, as that was not the purpose of the journey, I wanted to feed the emotion of that day, including it in the creation, letting it be raw and true.

It is with watercolours that I found the love to represent our feminine divinity. 

As it has changed my art practice, and my life completely, I decided to honour the 365 days of drawing by publishing a book that is available on Amazon.

I was also very lucky to be invited in 2018 to exhibit the results of the year of drawing, it was my first solo exhibition and it was an incredible experience. So many friends and people came to visit and it encouraged me to keep going after my dream.

Looking back I can see how much my art has changed and evolved, and how much I have grown as an artist.

My current project is a creative book, one that transforms an old fairy tale book into a book in honour of Frida. (It’s called Ode to Frida). It will be filled with paintings and quotes. I really want to take the time and savour its creation.

In addition I am starting a project of 2 big canvases, and a room divider, that will be Frida´s inspiration, as I love including big flowers and bright colours into my work. Working on big canvases brings a different energy to art, it amplifies it, makes it more intense.

Until the end of 2021 I have 2 exhibitions in coffee shops , at C’Chocolat in Montreux and Chez Rita in Villeneuve.

All photos credit Katerina Kestemont

About the author

I was born in Belgium and moved to Switzerland at the age of 20. I live now on the beautiful Swiss Riviera in Montreux. Art has always been a part of my life, as long as I can remember. In 2016, I rediscovered my passion, my love for painting and drawing. I am now working on creating my dream of becoming a full time artist.  You can also follow my journey on social media, or subscribe to my newsletter at katerina@infiniteinspiration.ch