A Walk on the Wild Side

The influence of one artist on another can be gradual, something that develops and reveals itself over years. In the case of Kathryn Ashcroft, it happened much more abruptly.

That came about in 2015, when David Koch, a painter living in Utah, asked her to help him with a mural project that was going to be displayed at a church building in Montreal, Canada. During the 10 years before she got that request, Ashcroft was creating realistic oil paintings of wildlife that were exercises in precision, with every hair and feather in place. Koch wanted her to paint some animals on his mural.

“I showed up with my tiny paint brushes, and he laughed, threw them in a garbage can, handed me big brushes, and said, ‘We’re going to teach you how to paint large and loose,’” Ashcroft says. “What I learned from him in about five weeks changed my style, my technique, and my art career.”

Read the full article in the November/December 2024 issue.