Kathy and Jim Meyers pulled up outside of the Confluence Gallery one snowy winter day in the late 90’s. Kathy was looking for a place to sell her artwork in the Methow Valley so they just dropped by, cold called if you will, at the Gallery.

She was impressed that Sybil Macapia, Confluence’s director, took the time to look at her work while standing outside in the cold, the gallery being off-limits because of a class. Jim adds the detail of Sybil was rolling a cigarette, an act that obviously impressed him in some way. Kathy, even after so many years, seems thrilled that Sybil accepted all her nicely framed little winter scenes drawn in colored pencil. She also recalls Jerome Thiel buying one of the works, making him her first Methow patron. I wondered aloud if Jerome still had the painting and whether he knew that its sale was significant to Kathy. She just laughed.

After moving to the Methow in 2002 she taught painting classes at Confluence Gallery which brought in students from as far away as Tonasket, Manson and Wenatchee. At one point she was teaching 2 classes a week to keep up with demand.

Today most of Kathy’s relationships with patrons come through her commissioned work.  As her self-confidence grew so did her willingness to take on commissions, the first one coming from a high school exhibit where someone noticed a nude dancer she had painted and commissioned another. Kathy’s authentic style and her affinity with animals brings her many gratifying pet painting projects. Over the years many of these projects culminate in tears of emotion when owners first view the image and character of their dearest furry friends captured on canvas.  Art is a powerful thing.

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Kathy also shared the story of one patron’s silence when the artwork was revealed. That kind of experience is pretty awful for both parties and led her to become a very clear communicator and to thoroughly discuss expectations. Kathy will not charge for a painting if the client isn’t satisfied and the second version of the portrait left everyone relieved and happy.

As a curator for The Gallery at Sun Mountain Lodge where we display Kathy’s work, I believe her appeal lies in the vibrancy of her work. It is loose and approachable. It is pure color and light and full of her love for painting and her skill at capturing the emotion of a scene, or the nature of the animal or the juiciness of the fruit…She’s all in.

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Find Kathy’s work at Sun Mountain Lodge, https://www.sunmountainlodge.com,
604 Patterson Lake Rd, Winthrop, WA 98862