I work with pen, colored pencils, and watercolor. I enjoy capturing moments with interesting people, recording memories in my travel journals, or drawing things in my life—pumpkins, pears, ponds, people, places—as I seek humor and beauty.

I am not a professional artist. I create art for personal enjoyment. I always have a few projects going and love the process of learning, exploration, and experimentation. I have many more failures than successes but use each as an opportunity to laugh and learn. At this moment in time, in addition to sketching, I am hand-building clay tiles, creating mosaic garden art, sewing a quilt, and working on a Peace Pole. I do FaceTime art with my 8-year-old granddaughter where we take turns teaching the other some technique or share a subject.

I come from a family where art was part of growing up. I have two degrees from UW, Art and Recreation, but art was pushed to casual rather than professional. When I retired from a recreation career, I made two commitments for each day… go outside and do something artsy. These have been priorities for me since moving to the island full time in 2017. My sister Chris and I purchased a tiny cabin in Holiday Hideaway in 1973 where we began to connect with the island beauty and this special community.

I have taken that love of sketching and journaling to teach classes for groups. Pre-pandemic I was teaching a monthly class for Seattle Parks and Recreation and am now working on a virtual learning class. I have used my colored-pencil skills for a book (Adriatica) cover commission, note cards previously sold to benefit Habitat for Humanity, or for an occasional auction. Really, the art is for me to enjoy the process and the finished product.

"I sketch in pen, so I do not get bogged down by quest for perfection. "

All Artwork ©Kathy Whitman