Braithwaite has been interested in exploring exchanges between people and animals since studying at the School of Fine Arts, in Canterbury in the mid-1980s.
[3] She grew up in the township of Pleasant Point in rural south Canterbury.
Since the mid-1990s, when Braithwaite spent two years living in Melbourne, she has exhibited regularly in Australia as well as New Zealand.
"[5] A painting of a slaughtered sheep's head she exhibited in 1991 epitomised New Zealand: "our farming and agricultural history, the idea of imperialism, the Christian symbolism of it and the distaste so many have for the display of powerful and raw emotion.
"[6] Braithwaite's work has seven times been a finalist in the Sulman Prize and four times in the Archibald Prize, in 2018 with her portrait of businessman, art collector and philanthropist Pat Corrigan[7] and most recently in 2022 with McManusstan, her portrait of trade union leader Sally McManus.