Artist Bio

Kathy Calhoun has two degrees in visual and studio arts with teacher licensure. (BS James Madison University, MIS-AR Virginia Commonwealth University)  She has also lived, studied and painted in Paris and New York City. Kathy has studied the figure under Roberto Osti as well as color theory and composition with Susan Abbott. Her work can be found in private collections around the United States, in Europe and Canada as well as the UNOS corporate collection. Kathy currently lives and paints in Richmond Virginia, while teaching art education and studio classes around the state at such places as the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Art League in Alexandria, Nimrod Hall Summer Program and Longwood University.

Teaching Philosophy

With her background in teacher training, Kathy is well known for being able to make complex concepts easily understandable. Her rough sketch planning approach allows for faster development and creates an accurate record of one’s own personal design strategies.

Kathy has created a low stress, mini-version of the classical atelier approach to introduce the foundational design and compositional techniques needed for realism. Kathy then encourages her students to discover which of these skills and techniques they want to toss, emphasize, or manipulate to express their unique voice.