My background

I grew up the fifth of six children, spending most of my childhood in San Antonio, TX. My parents are the products of many generations of Texans, and despite many years of traveling in often exotic places, I still feel like Texas is home.

I have always drawn. I won my first competition in the fourth grade and have been taking art classes and making things ever since. I earned my BFA in 1987 from the University of Texas at Austin. My greatest challenge there was sculpture, my greatest relaxation painting, and my greatest joy life drawing.

Anatomy is fascinating to me and animal anatomy more so because it is so accessible and unhidden. That, and I think animals are just beautiful. My childhood sketchbooks are filled with drawings of the grown-up me as a zookeeper or artist surrounded by animals. So my path has always felt pretty clear.

People I’ve learned from

Living in Texas I was very influenced by Mexican art and culture. In college I discovered a big connection with the Mexican muralists – Sequeiros and Orozco, the way they composed and painted. Also the German expressionist Franz Marc for putting animals front and center as subject matter. Susan Rothenberg and Richard Diebenkorn for the layering of paint. Matisse for his perfect lines.

My dad was in the Air Force, and for a few years when I was in elementary school, we were stationed in Hawaii. I’m realizing lately just how much the Hawaiian culture, its mythology and animism, has been fueling my work as well.

My process or what I pursue

At the University of Texas I was schooled in what I found out later was the “Southern Narrative” tradition. Big and figurative. Working on my own right out of college I didn't have a whole lot of narrative in my work. I switched from big acrylic painting to small watercolor to accomodate some physical problems with my hands. The small scale was a good format for learning about watercolor. That tiny space was just enough to manage while I figured out who I was artistically without all the art school hype and conceptualizing.

I have been back to working large for the past several years or so, 48” x 60” at the biggest. Fluid acrylics and charcoal are providing the same satisfying chemistry as ink and watercolor create on paper. I still work in watercolor and gouache, and small ( as little as 4” x 6”) – it’s a good way to work out composition and color puzzlers. Also the intimacy of the small ones requires quiet energy, which balances the big dynamic energy I use for the large works.

Narrative is showing up in my work lately (“finally!” my husband says). My most recent works look like there is a story going on. I want more interaction between the players in the composition. My interest continues to be with color, line and gesture. Gesture is the backbone of my approach. I am fascinated by and challenged to see how much shape and power I can express with the simplest of lines and strokes. I look for what is essential or “of the essence.” I have been working with clay for the past few years also. I am pleased to see the same gestural quality in those sculptural pieces.

Learning

There is always more to learn. I try to take classes at places where I can be away from my chores and commercial demands and just work on the work. Give it my complete attention. Recharge. This kind of exploration without thinking about results makes for leaps in the work. I used to think “oh, I do this full-time, I have a studio, what do I need to go work somewhere else for?” But now I understand how deadlines and external pressures pull me away from my center.

About my business’s namesake

Kato (after the Green Hornet’s sidekick and Inspector Clouseau’s driver), was our beloved know-it-all dog diva. It was my husband’s idea to call the biz “Not Now, Kato!” for the Pink Panther’s chauffeur/body guard who would come out of nowhere and defend/assault him. Kato was out first dog together as a couple and still our gold standard for what makes a good (smart aleck, neurotic, funny) dog.