Artist Statement:

The personal narrative and landscape are at the heart and history of classical, realist American painting. To be able to see and express the profound beauty, dignity and gift of life through art can be transforming. At the very moment you begin to paint, stillness prevails and you become deeply involved in the present. Liberating the soul from the constraints of the external, you attempt to convey the sincere from a very profound and personal exchange. The journey is to continue exploring the narrative through time, translating the ephemeral to inspire and uplift the human spirit.

Katherine W. Troyer is a contemporary realist painter.  Raised in the Pacific Northwest, her authentic voice ascribes to her early rearing with a sensitivity towards history and the arts. From a very young age, drawing and painting were a cultivated extension of an unaffected response to the natural world. Explorations progressed through local museums, community centers and Cornish summer programs.

Jesuit education at Seattle University expanded her philosophical and artistic muse. Undergraduate and post-graduate coursework included art history and painting with Pacific Northwest artist’s Val Laigo and Nick Damascus. While raising a family of four successful children, Katherine continued to pursue her passion through local artist collectives, museums, senior centers and artist studio workshops. During studies with Cary Juriaans in 2007, she was introduced to Tenaya Sims where classical studies progressed for two years in his atelier at Fall City Fine Arts. In 2009 Kathy had the opportunity to study and copy the masters of the Italian Renaissance for seven weeks with Juliette Aristides Drawing Workshop in Florence, followed by independent study in Paris. Upon her return home, she immersed herself for the next three years in the study of human anatomy, figure, portrait drawing and painting under the direction of Tenaya Sims at Georgetown Atelier. Additionally, Katherine studied anatomy and ecorché with Matt Buckner and Geoff Flack at Seattle Sculpture Atelier, along with four consecutive summer workshops with Michael Grimaldi from Janus Collaborative Art School , New York.

In November of 2012, Katherine was invited and became a signature member of the Puget Sound Group of Northwest Painters, established in 1928. Inspired by the American Realist tradition, she continues working to refine her craft. The journey proceeds among the rich, talented tradition and collective of Pacific Northwest painters in Washington State.

Life has been the greatest teacher.