Collection: Birds of Australia - Colourful Bird Art

About the Birds of Australia Collection

I came to birds late. For years I was known for botanical art — flowers, native flora, proteas and banksias. Birds weren't part of my world at all. Then in 2015 an art director told me something that changed how I saw everything: birds appear in almost every significant piece of art and decorative design ever made.

I didn't believe it until I went to the Art Gallery of NSW and walked through every room looking for them. They were everywhere. Paintings, decorative arts, ceramics from China and India — birds in the foreground, birds in the background, birds you'd never noticed until someone told you to look. Once you see them you can't unsee them.

So I started drawing birds. My first attempts were terrible — stiff, awkward, very angry looking. But I kept going.

The Seagulls design came first in 2015, created for a US card company design challenge and selected by the art director as a standout piece. It's been selling on Spoonflower since 2016 and was licensed to Spotlight as fabric in 2020 — and continues to sell as fabric today.

From there the collection grew. Rosellas, Kingfishers, Cockatoos, Finches, Paradise Birds — all painted in my signature style, bold and graphic with native flora woven through the compositions. The Rosella Paradise design became the hero of the collection, licensed on a complete bedding and homewares range, a quilt fabric collection, cards, magnets, jewellery and the full wooden accessories range. Several other bird designs have also been licensed on fabrics and gifts.

These aren't realistic bird illustrations. They're painted the way I paint everything — with colour, energy and a distinctly Australian character.

Scroll up to explore the full Birds of Australia Collection or browse all Australian art prints by Kirsten Katz.