Nancy Whittaker, Tarrangower Times
Last week I had the pleasure of observing the birth of the next iteration of the MANet Inc. Art Gallery relocating from 27 Main Street to 37 Main Street.
A group exhibition of art works by Fionna Madigan, Liadaan, Carol De Graauw, Geoff Hocking, Paul Ryan, Eleni Rivers and Catherine Tait, will also include guest artist Kate Stedman. Her work includes water colour plein air paintings done on her overseas guided art tours.
Kate is the Director of French Fusion Travel, which conducts small group fully escorted tours in Europe. Kate is a travel sketcher, historian, Francophile, and Italophile, who hosts sketching and travel Journalling Tours with renowned artists.
Each tour accommodates 14 people, many of whom are regulars. Kate, a former Humanities Teacher, is self-taught. Her work includes watercolours and gel printing.
This exhibition showcases a selection of Kate’s travel sketches created on location with her groups, each influenced by a different visiting artist, alongside watercolours Kate has painted closer to home in Maldon and Melbourne.
At an impromptu interview with Kate amid the relatively orderly chaos of MANet Inc. moving into No. 37, I found out that she has been running the tours for 25 years to various places in Europe, including France, Italy, Greece, Croatia, Portugal and London.
Kate has worn many hats—historian, teacher, tour guide, and tour operator—but they all share a common thread: a passion for bringing art and culture to life.
Fluent in French and conversational in Italian and Spanish, Kate has led travellers through Europe, across the Northern Hemisphere, and into Korea.
When she’s not travelling, Kate hosts two-day creative workshops in Maldon, where participants can explore or refine their sketching and watercolour technique, and dive into other hands-on skills such as gel printing and laser image transfer to craft unique travel albums.
In February, international UK artist Ian Fennelly joins Kate in Maldon for a two-week-long sketching tour – an event so popular that it sold out in just three days.
In March Kate has organised a two-day workshop in Maldon with Patty Edge the Sketching Doc on Thursday 26 and Friday 27 March. Maximum number of participants is 14.
Many of the participants in Kate’s Maldon tour are either regulars, or from overseas. Which is great for local tourism. Participants will be accommodated in the Maldon Motel and Wiltshire House at 9 Hornsby Street.
Tours for 2026 have already been arranged in Provence, Greece and South Korea. Tours cost around €3,400 and are usually for a week or 10 days.
Kate has said, “My art is rather eclectic. I love Travel Journalling, incorporating text, stories, collage, recipes, food sketches and watercolour paintings in my journals whilst on tour and I love showing people how to make a sketchbook journal look fabulous and be a thing to keep and treasure always.”
This is Kate’s first time exhibiting her collection of watercolours created in her travels. She has 51 original watercolours on display, and a few of her many sketch books of notes from her world travels will also be on display.
In the opening exhibition there are also unframed artworks by numerous MANet Inc. members.
The opening of Maldon Artist Network Inc.’s new gallery space is very exciting, as well as the inaugural February-March art workshops. Spaces are filling fast, according to Catherine Tait Gallery Coordinator.
For further information frenchfusion.com.au/tours/.
Or Phone: 0419 119 047 for details of MANet Workshops at No 27.
PS Maldon’s Cascade Gallery will be closed for the rest of January 2026, then re-opening for weekends only from Saturday 7 February from 10am -5pm.
This article appeared in the Tarrangower Times, 23 January 2026.
