Katie grew up in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. At age 18 a family friend invited her to go painting outside. Weeks later the same friend told her she must sign up for a workshop given by Don Sahli, a nationally recognized plein air painter, so she did. On the third day the entire process clicked and there began a new love and a new career in the fine arts.Don Sahli introduced her to the tradition and heritage of Russian impressionism, to the work of Sahli’s teacher Sergei Bongart and to the palette and techniques of the Russian masters. With this springboard of information she was equipped to experience nature in a totally new way.Katie began to win awards in local art festivals and then was included in Southwest Art magazine’s section, “21 Young Artists To Collect Now.” She was featured in the exhibition “Legacy of the Russian Masters” with Filmmaker and painter George Gallo along side her teacher Don Sahli and most recently won the Artist’s Choice award for the 9th annual Sedona Plein Air Festival and the Crested Butte Plein Air Invitational in the open class division.As she grows she has developed and discovered the importance of both the outdoors and the studio. This has enabled her to explore the elements of design, structure and balance in pieces painted from her field studies. As a native of the Vail Valley in Colorado, she searches for beauty near her home and throughout the west.