About Animal Artist Kathy Winkler
“I have visited ranches and parks from Virginia to the Rockies, north to the Dakotas and south to Texas looking for potential subjects for my paintings. When I visit, I study the animals, watching how they move and how they watch. I watch them sometimes for hours. When I see them being themselves, I take photos for future painting prospects. When I paint them, I attempt to capture the spirit that they are, not just what they are. When I paint, I emphasize the subject and not the background, in order to allow them to better reveal who they are. When I paint, I attempt to create a connection between these beautiful animals and their human observers. Animals are far more complex and intelligent than many people believe. I believe that much ancestral knowledge about animal to human connection has been lost over time. Through the images I paint, I try to show how deeply connected we really are.” - Kathy Winkler
Kathy Winkler began her career as an artist when she was very young - drawing animals at home and at school. As an adult, while raising two daughters, she won art show competitions. As her children grew to be teenagers, she began to work as an engineering graphics artist supporting Navy contracts and doing patent drawings. She became manager of engineering projects concerned with naval combat warfare systems. Concurrently, she obtained her M.A. in International Studies, completing work at Oxford University in England. After 20 years in government contracting, she decided to go back to one of her true loves - creating paintings of animals.
Over the past 15 years, her style has changed, but her subjects remain the same. She has been recognized by museums that are animal oriented. She has had shows at numerous museums and now has paintings in permanent collections. These museums are the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces, NM; the National Buffalo Museum in Jamestown, ND; and the Butler Longhorn Museum in League City, Texas. In addition, her work appears as wall art through Magic Murals, and Artwork on Tile produces her artwork on ceramic tiles.
Kathy's work has been illustrated in an article in the Texas Longhorn Trails Magazine. Recently, she also had an article about her in the National Bison Association's Bison World perodical. While her heart is in the Southwest, she currently resides in Virginia with her husband, Jerry, three rescued doodles and a rescued Maine Coon. She has previously shown and trained American Warmblood horses. Kathy and Jerry have two daughters and three grandchildren.
Museums - Permanent Collections
New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum
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Exhibitts
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Distributors of Kathy's Art
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Magazine Covers
(February 2008, 2010-2016; March 2017, 2019, May 2021)
