Why I Paint Wildlife
I’ve often been asked why I paint wildlife. The honest answer is that I’m not sure I ever consciously chose it. Wildlife was simply part of the world I grew up in—and eventually, it became the way I learned to see.
I grew up on the Triangle X Ranch in Jackson Hole, surrounded by mountains, horses, birds, deer, elk, and the ever-changing landscape of the valley. My father was a wildlife biologist and ornithologist, so curiosity about the natural world was woven into our family life. I learned early to pay attention.
One of my earliest wildlife memories was discovering a killdeer nest with my father. What looked like a handful of speckled stones turned out to be eggs. Nearby, the mother bird was pretending to have a broken wing, trying to lure us away from her nest. I was fascinated. I wanted to understand what I had just witnessed.
That sense of curiosity has never really left me.
When I paint wildlife, I find myself going down those same rabbit holes. I study anatomy, movement, behavior, feathers, eyes, light, and the way an animal inhabits its surroundings. I draw from life whenever I can, observe animals in the field, and use photography and video as tools to help me understand what I have seen.
But observation is only the beginning.
What draws me most deeply to wildlife is the possibility of creating a relationship through paint. I believe animals are sentient beings, and I want my paintings to convey something of their presence—not simply what they look like, but something of who they are.
A landscape without wildlife can sometimes feel lonely to me. When I place an animal within it, suddenly there is a relationship. There is movement, awareness, and another living presence sharing the world with us.
That is what I hope happens when you stand in front of one of my paintings. I want you to feel something before you analyze it. Perhaps a moment of recognition. A sense of wonder. A memory. Maybe simply the quiet pleasure of being in the presence of something wild.
"Stronghold" | 18 x 18 inches | Availible
I think of each painting as a love letter—to the animals I have encountered, to the landscape that raised me, and to the remarkable world we are fortunate enough to share.
My job is simply to pay attention, to listen, and to translate what I discover through paint.
And if, in the process, a painting makes someone else look a little more closely at the natural world, then I feel I have done what I came here to do.
"Between Worlds" | 24 x 12 inches | Availible
Below is a recording of a class I did for docents training at the National Museum of Wildlife Art.
Thank you all for your continued support. It means the world to me!
- Kathryn Mapes Turner
