Kitty Ray Brown

Ever since fellow Muddy River artist Craig Richards taught me the delights of oil painting, I wake up every morning with a goal: to create a better painting than the last. Sometimes I do. Other times, I learn. Either way, my passion is to have a brush in my hand.

I spent most of my working career as a fine jewelry designer, using gold, silver and precious stones like diamonds, sapphires and emeralds. After retirement, I became a photographer. Many of my photographs have been made into tapestries for hotels and businesses around the world. Others have been published in newspapers. Many have been exhibited in galleries in Virginia and North Carolina. Some won awards.

Now, I still make photographs, but I also paint. Every day. Sometimes all day. Because the light at my mountaintop farm changes from moment to moment, Plein Air painting is the style I like best. From Craig, I’ve absorbed the impressionist method.

The Muddy River Art Association recently appointed me as its secretary and I'm also on the Board of the Stokes County Arts Council.

But right now … I’m painting.

©Kitty Ray Brown, Hanging Rock Lake Dam. Oil on canvas, 11 by 14 inches.