Pamela Kay (b. 1939, Kent) is a widely admired British painter known for her still lifes, flower pieces, interiors and travel studies in watercolour, oil and gouache.
She trained at Canterbury College of Art, where she worked closely with John Ward RA — an experience that shaped the disciplined, observational approach she still uses today. She later studied at the Royal College of Art (Textiles), winning a Cotton Board Travel Scholarship that took her to France and Italy.
Pamela spent the early part of her career as a successful freelance textile designer, creating work for Liberty, Tibor Reich, David Whitehead and John Lewis, before returning to painting full-time.
Her election to major British art societies followed quickly:
- Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours (RWS) — Associate 1983, Member 1985
- Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) — Member since 1984
- New English Art Club (NEAC) — Member since 1985
She has exhibited regularly in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, and has held solo exhibitions at the Royal Watercolour Society (Bankside) and the Canterbury Festival, as well as participating in events at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
Travel has long been integral to her practice. Pamela has painted across Europe, Asia, India, the Middle East, Africa, Russia, Scandinavia and the Mediterranean while lecturing on Swan Hellenic voyages. In recent years she has focused on painting in France, including time spent working in Monet’s garden at Giverny.
Her paintings and working methods have been the focus of two books — The Art of Pamela Kay and her own Gouache: A Personal View — as well as an APV studio film.
Pamela continues to paint with steady dedication, clarity and a long-honed eye for the quiet beauty of everyday things.