What is the first thing that you think or do when you wake up in the morning?

Kathy reveals that she is not a morning person, she says, “I’m not a morning person, it takes me a while to get going!  I usually pick up my iPad and start scrolling through Instagram to look at paintings.  This often gets me excited to get to my studio but somehow I don’t get there until the afternoon.  Mornings usually are for all the miscellaneous things that an artist has to do – email, sending things to galleries, etc. and then my mind is freed to be in the studio.”

What makes you whole? 

Kathy says, “Hard to simplify what makes me whole, I’m lucky to be really passionate about many things.  The thread through my life is seeing humor and laughter in pretty much everything.  But art, music, and my garden, my cats, my family, and my friends are all intertwined I guess.  I play piano and love it as much as painting but can’t devote the time as much as I’d like to.”

Was there a pivotal moment or experience in your life when you decided to pursue art as a career?

“Painting and drawing since childhood were the the only things I was good at so it was natural to pursue art in some form.  I had a mural business for 7 years but my life really changed when I met Richard Schmid and Nancy Guzik and was invited to join the Putney Painters.”

Could you tell me about your relationship with the medium you are using to paint flowers for this exhibition?

“I paint on either stretched canvas or on wood panels that I make myself.  I love a really smooth surface, love moving the paint around on a good quality board or canvas, very juicy paint in beautiful colors applied with the wonderful brushes made by Rosemary and Co.”

Why flowers?

“I grew up surrounded by my mother’s gardens on Long Island and I’ve been in love with flowers and gardens forever.  For me a painting doesn’t feel complete without some sort of life in the form of flowers, animals, or something organic.  Pansies are my favorite flower because they come in every color of the rainbow.  I’ve thought about the painting that is in this show for a long time, putting together all the different colors and unifying them in a painting without looking too busy.  I actually started the poppy painting in the garden before they started blooming because they opened so late this year.  When the first one opened, I cut it and moved it around the garden waiting for the rest to open!  I decided on a theme of putting birds in all the paintings as an added touch of life – the poppies have a small trellis with birds from my garden..”

Kathy and Stephanie Birdsall are close friends and neighbors, and are members of the Putney Painters, a group of artists that study under Richard Schmid and his wife Nancy Guzik.  Daniel Keys and Kathy are also close friends and have painted together for 10 years, often demo-ing together at various venues

What made you want to participate in this exhibition?

“I’ve known Kathryn for many years, painting with her with the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters in the Tetons several times.  I’ve always loved her and respected her work and her wonderful gallery.  I knew she would present a professional and inspirational show and I was thrilled to be part of it!”

To see Kathy’s work in While We Were Still…Flowers Bloomed, click here.