About 

Hi there, my name is Katrina McMinds, and I'm an En Plein Air artist (a french term meaning I paint in the open air). I grew up in North Carolina, but I currently live outside of Charlottesville, Virginia.  A lifetime lover of art and creating with my hands, my love of painting outdoors began as a fun activity to do with my young children while on our travels.  We would sit in the sand, listening to the lapping waves of the ocean, talk about the wonders that we observed and record them in watercolors.  Those are some of my fondest memories of their early days.  Time passed and my children grew older, but those memories remain and the habit was formed.  To this day, I will choose painting outdoors, struggling against the elements, trying to capture the fleeting moment that captivated me, over studio lighting any day of the week.  Every painting has a story of adventure behind it.  

I am a self taught artist.  Driven by an inner need and desire to create and learn, it has become my life long journey to develop skills and techniques to portray how I see the world, or rather feel it.  I've picked up tips and tricks through videos, workshops, books, and master studies, but it is the miles put in through practice and observation, critiques from mentors, and an inner drive to give my best that has carved my skill and technique.  I am forever a  pupil of my craft, there will always be more that I can learn, and my style will continue to evolve as my own story changes - I love that about being an artist!

Though I am adept in Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, and Casein, Gouache is my preferred medium for plein air painting, with its fast drying qualities and matte appearance, I reach for it time and again.  All works are painted on archival quality illustration board, sealed in wax and mounted onto hand crafted wooden frames.

Achievements:

• First place in the 2022 Abingdon, VA Plein Air Festival.

• Honorable Mention in the 2023 Abingdon, VA Plein Air Festival.

• First place in the Small Works show at the Richmond Art Works Gallery, November 2023.

• Second Place in the 2024 Paint Great Falls Quick Paint competition.

Contact: KatrinaMcMinds@gmail.com