Katherine  was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and grew up near lakes and surrounded by trees. Now she lives in San Francisco, with my husband, in a house on a hill.

Her studio is in a cozy corner of her house, in a space filled with brushes and bottles, scraps of paper and paints. Her dogs, Sookie and Chi, keep her company while she works. They nap and watch out the window for visitors, use their cold black noses in the late afternoon to remind Katherine when it’s time for a walk.

Katherine says she remembers the first time she painted a picture and the paint went where she wanted it to go. That was in third grade, working with watercolors and was very excited by the experience. Now, she uses all kinds of paint, charcoal, pens and paper. She likes playing with the materials and they all provide seemingly endless possibilities for expression.

Katherine says, “The picture books that fill…