Many of my paintings reflect Native American legends.  My strongest influence comes from living on San Carlos Apache and Pine Ridge Sioux Reservations, where my father organized  and trained police forces.   Indian legends and the life stories shared by my friends and family are at the heart of my art.   An ongoing theme found in my work is the relationship between man and the animal kingdom.  By drawing from personal experiences, I want to capture reality and wrap it in my wild imagination.  That used to get me in trouble in school as a kid.

I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Art Education from Northern Arizona University and did post graduate studies at the Maryland Institute of Art.  However, my greatest learning has come from the school of hard knocks.  After formal education, I began my life time of discovery.   In 1974, I started with traditional black ink on white clayboard (also called Scratchboard) and 7 years later developed full color painting techniques on white Clayboard.  At that time there was little information available about this media and my experimental mixed media techniques were described in the book Scratchboard for Illustration by Ruth Lozner.

Paintings on Clayboard are a combination of rich color and graphic precision.  I brush watercolor paints on white clayboard, cut fine line details into the clay surface with an exacto knife and the glaze color onto the board with oil paints.  The results are the clarity of watercolor the detail of clayboard and the lustrous finish of an oil painting. The work is so detailed that it often requires the use of a magnifying glass for its creation.  When asked how long the artwork takes to make, I say, “ It takes weeks and weeks and months and months, but not years and years.”

In 1990, my paintings on clayboard took another leap with the creation of kinetic paintings. Kinetic paintings are created from two originals paintings on Clayboard that are planned for each other to make a third image in the middle view. When passing by the painting it appears to change as your view point changes.

In 2001, I painted my first life size pony for Trail of Painted Ponies. Horse Feathers was followed in 2002 with another life size pony, Give Me Wings.  Both ponies were made into collectible figurines by Westland Giftware. United We Stand was a life size buffalo that I painted for the town of Custer, SD.  Check out the life size foal called Flutterby Foal on my life size animals page.  It is made of cast aluminum and has 7 sculpted butterflies. 

In 2008, I returned to painting Acrylics on canvas a medium that I'd left behind in 1974.  I had many ideas and wanted the opportunity to make more paintings.  Clayboard is an exacting work of detail and allows for only a few originals a year. My back-log of ideas were waiting to be created.  Painting with Acrylics has given me the opportunity to increase my painting ideas and work on a larger scale.

I invite you to share in my recent experiences as well as the treasures of my past. Enjoy the website and if you can, come see the art in person at one of the many shows I attend throughout the year.   If you would like to see my paintings or ponies in progress by email please fill out the register and join my personal email mailing list.  

Enjoy the journey,

Kathy Morrow

Please visit our catalog as we are adding new art all the time.