Art Chowder March | April, Issue 20 | Page 14

U ntil that point the closest I’d seen were the pictographs at Painted Rock, but those are painted on whereas the glyphs are actually carved. We then went to Palm Springs and Joshua Tree and that was also amazing. Some artists have a process or ritual they move through before beginning a new piece. Do you do anything to prep yourself? Katrina: As far as a ritual goes for a painting I don’t really have one, but on several occasions I’ve gotten ideas while running since it’s extremely meditative. Once I have the vision in my mind’s eye it’s important for me to create a quick thumbnail sketch so I can see the design beforehand. Balance is very important to me; even if a subject is static I like to create the illusion of movement and life with my lines. I also focus a lot on connection, both in the composition and the human level. I want to know ahead of time that someone will connect with the painting whether it’s with eye contact between the viewer and the subject; hidden images; or a feeling.  Besides running, where do you find inspiration for your paintings? Katrina: My inspiration comes from dreams, intuition and spiritual connection through animal life and nature. Spending time in nature is important but I’ve always been a lucid dreamer so I like to capture a dream- like quality in my paintings.  Lucid dreaming... is that like meditating or daydreaming? Katrina: I do think meditation inspires my dreams but I don’t know that I would call them daydreams. Instead of your basic dreams where they are disconnected, change really quickly and they’re kind of warped black and white, I dream in mostly chronological full color. 14 ART CHOWDER MAGAZINE