Kate Warthen is a contemporary landscape painter working in oil on canvas. Drawing is an important part of her process. It is usually her first step in exploring a subject, helping her find the central idea and composition before moving to paint. Kate's current working process combines plein air and studio. Sketches are made on location, and paintings are completed quickly thereafter in the studio, relying on visual memory and those initial sketches. This approach keeps the work immediate and alive. As Kate describes it: "Working in this way gives a more direct translation of the impression of the scene, without fixating on details. It is my hope that my paintings will convey some of the beauty and mystery of the world, from grand to commonplace, with a bit of slowing down, of respite." Kate grew up on a small farm in northern Wisconsin, surrounded by woods, rivers, and lakes. That upbringing gave her an early and lasting love of the natural world. It is one that has never left her work. Kate currently resides in Marina, California, and is often out and about with sketchbook in hand, or painting plein air alongside other artists throughout the Monterey Bay and Big Sur areas.