Kathleen Shillam’s dedication to drawing underpinned her practice. Following her studies at Brisbane’s Central Technical College (1932–34), which she described as ‘one long drawing class’, she embarked on a period of self-directed study while working as a commercial artist. She shared a studio with her future husband, Leonard, and artists William Smith and Francis Lymburner, where they modelled for each other, and she began to sculpt figures based on the human form at this time.

In 1938, Kathleen moved to Sydney’s North Shore where she was inspired by visits to Taronga Park Zoo. With little studio space, she honed her drawing skills, sketching the animals she encountered at the Zoo and developing a lifelong fascination for living creatures.

After the Shillams’ marriage in Brisbane in 1939, they established themselves at Brighton, on Brisbane’s bayside, and built a series of studio spaces. Though Kathleen collaborated with Leonard on several significant commissions, including Pelicans 1984, which can be seen from the Queensland Art Gallery’s Watermall, she also forged a solo career and was regarded as Queensland’s most important postwar woman sculptor. Stripped of extraneous detail, her artworks effortlessly bridge the gap between figuration and abstraction.