Kathryn Winkler's Story Insights about the Artist

Have you ever wondered what inspired the painters of cave and rock drawings to paint their pictographs? I have often thought about those prehistoric artists who were motivated to capture aspects of their world on their most available ‘canvases.’ Such thoughts have led me to want to capture the motif of the pictographic artists’ canvas on my own canvases.

My subjects - generally the larger animals - are not out my back door, but they are out there - at ranches, and in national and state parks.  My husband and I travel around the U.S. - visiting those locations, taking photographs and being with the animals - 1000s of photographs in the past few years.  Then, in my home studio, while listening to music – from classical to blues, with photographed subjects in mind, I create the impression of a mystic surface on my canvas, and then the subjects begin to emerge and a story begins. I see the subjects on my canvas similar to when I was a child and imagined objects in cloud formations. The story appears on the canvas as my hands, guided by an inner motivation, inspirationally guide the placement of color on the ‘canvas,’ creating a symphony of colors.

What inspires me to paint the way I do is the satisfaction I feel when I can portray an animal in a way that captures its spirit.  If I am patient, each animal entrusts me with its innate spirit, and allows me to bring it out on my canvas to share with you - the viewer. I strive to create a spiritual connection with the animal - for me and you.  I find immeasurable pleasure in enabling you to experience the essence of a spiritual connection with a particular painting. As an artist, the most wonderful feeling occurs with having made the emotional investment in a painting and noticing the sound the painting leaves in the air. If other people can feel it, then I have achieved the ultimate gratification. Based on feedback I have received from collectors who have purchased my work, they often are struck with a powerful emotional experience, wanting to be with the subject in a way that they have not experienced before with other art. My mediums are oil and acrylic on canvas.

I have always been an artist, but I left the field for a number of years and worked in Corporate America. After earning a B.A. degree in Business Management and an M.A. in International Studies, I enjoyed a career in engineering management supporting U.S. Navy combat systems before returning to my passion in art. In the late 1990s, I was motivated to paint an armoire for one of my daughters. The motif I chose was pictographic. That idea stayed with me, and when I left the corporate world, I began to experiment with the neo-pictographic form. Today, my paintings have evolved to a form I call realistic impressionism. 

I currently reside in Virginia with my husband, Jerry, and three rescued dogs.  We have raised and currently show American Warmblood horses. We have two daughters and three grandchildren who also live in Virginia.