About the Artist

Kathy has a natural talent in art. She began drawing at an early age and enjoyed art class best of all. Many times her teachers would keep her artwork so she realized that they must like it. She would entertain her classmates with cartoons and always illustrated her book reports and stories. Because of her success with art she decided to obtain a degree in art education and taught for one year. Her career switched tracks and she went into the corporate world doing administration and graphics. After many years she felt like her life was off track and she was not doing anything very creative. She decided to take some watercolor classes at the local art league. Again she took another course in pastels and had something click inside of her when watching her instructor paint a tree. She fell in love with pastels and with some effort realized she could excel in this medium.

Using pastels enables her to express her passion for nature. Most of the pictures she paints are from photos taken from arduous backpacking trips. The incredible beauty in the harsh wilderness is a portrait of life that is sometimes hard but sweetened by beauty. Art's purpose is to affirm the beauty in the world. Her goal is to show the beauty of nature and thus affirm that there is a loving Creator.

Kathy likes the rich colors and textures formed by layering the pastels right on the pastel paper. She can control the values of the colors as she works and this technique lends itself well to reproducing vibrant landscapes. She likes to "spark" the paintings as a final process by highlighting certain areas with a softer pastel or with a very light color.

Although she feels she is just beginning to learn about pastels, she has already exhibited in the League several times and won a 2nd place ribbon. She has commissioned and sold some paintings and hopes she will make a contribution to the pastel world with her art.