Kay has always been involved in the arts in one form or another. She started at 15 as a drummer in a rock band before progressing to a Bavarian band, playing at the Cuckoo in Olinda. She also danced and sang in the nightly floor show and later became a solo singer at various clubs along the border of Victoria and New South Wales. She gave it up in 1991 to raise her sons, James and Nathan.

After spending seven years learning folk art, Kay studied pastel under Nola Clark (an award winning artist and judge) for three years before spending a couple of Terms with Craig Penny for lessons in contemporary modernist acrylics. She is now studying all forms of media with the multitalented Michael Goff. Kay has painted many different subjects including flowers and scenes but her main love is to paint animal portraits in pastel.