How has your work evolved in recent years? I have focused more and more on animals. My fascination with and appreciation of them has increasingly deepened. I want to gain a greater understanding of them through my artwork and share this with the viewer. It’s my goal to capture their essence and vitality in an elegant and distilled way.
Where do you find inspiration? I find no shortage of inspiration in my native Jackson Hole, which is part of the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem—it supports incredible biodiversity and large mammals.
What are you most proud of? It’s not a certain award or individual accomplishment but rather the “miles of canvas” that I’ve painted, the accumulation of time dedicated to learning to paint and draw. It’s the piles of newsprint sketches done during life-drawing sessions and the landscape thumbnail studies no one sees. Early on, my teachers insisted that there are no shortcuts to becoming a painter. I am most proud of how I have fallen in love with the process of making art rather than the results that come of it.
Describe yourself in one word. Seeker.
Tell us a little bit about your studio. My studio is my favorite room in the world! It is filled with art supplies, easels, drawing tables, music, and art books. It has perfect northern light with the most amazing view of the full Teton range, and it’s less than a quarter mile from the border of Grand Teton National Park. I regularly see bison, elk, moose, deer, and fox just outside my window.
People would be surprised to learn that… I grew up on a working ranch in the middle of Grand Teton National Park and attended a country school—there were only about five kids in my class. My favorite day of the week was Thursdays, when the art bus would come for the day.
If your home or studio was on fire, what one thing would you save? My Hughes easel. Not only is it beautiful, but its design has enabled me to continue painting while recovering from two ACL surgeries in the past two years.
How has the pandemic changed your art habits over the past year? It has enabled me to slow down, step back, and take stock of what’s important. Life simplified for me, and so did my imagery. I see more joy reflected.
What would you be if you weren’t an artist? I have a master’s degree in education and loved working as an art teacher for eight years before focusing on being a full-time artist.
Favorite non-art-related thing to do? Dance! I just have to get this knee healed up from my latest ski injury.
What galleries represent your work? Turner Fine Art, Jackson Hole, WY.
This story appeared in the May 2021 issue of Southwest Art magazine.
The post The Next Generation | Kathryn Mapes Turner appeared first on Southwest Art Magazine.