Welcome to the world of Kathleen Noffsinger, where land meets sea at the Chesapeake Bay. Kathleen is an award-winning artist from Deltaville, Virginia, who expresses her talent in lively paintings of wildlife and nature. Spreading her artistic “wings” Kathleen has recently added artist oils and cold wax medium to her watercolor arsenal and is experimenting in abstracting the natural landscape with oil paint on canvas, wood and aluminum panels. “I try to paint the “light” and capture a “sense of place” in complex layering techniques, no matter which medium I am using. It’s been surprising how the two mediums of watercolor and oil use similar layers of color and texture.”.
Having spent many enjoyable hours on the Chesapeake Bay with her husband, Tom, she chooses the water and its many facets as one of her favorite subjects. “I am fascinated by the life that is both above and below the water’s surface and the play of light and color on that life. I love to zoom in on every aspect of nature, capturing special moments in “close ups” that force me to use my creativity to make a painting rather than just copy what I am seeing. I love the way my paints let my imagination take over when creating a painting.” She keeps her camera and sketch book with her on board their boat, preferring to work from her own reference material, and often takes photos of the egrets and herons she loves to paint.
Kathleen constantly keeps her “artist” eyes open for future painting ideas. “Tom found the lost buoys that washed ashore over the years and hung them on the side of our fishing shed from an old oar,” she says of the scene that inspired her “Chesapeake Lost and Found” watercolor and subsequent limited edition print. “I decided to sketch and paint it when I saw that the sunlight hitting the buoys late one afternoon was making the most wonderful shadows.”
Drawing and painting since childhood, Kathleen graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in elementary education, choosing classes in art and design for her electives. She has painted in watercolor since 1991, adding oil in 2016, studying over the years with several internationally known artists. Her paintings have been featured in four publications, including the Chesapeake Bay magazine and she was the featured artist interviewed for a documentary on the Chesapeake Bay for PBS. Kathleen’s paintings have been purchased for both private and corporate collections throughout the World.
Combining her training as a teacher with her love of art, Kathleen began teaching painting classes in 1998. Her popular weekly watercolor class in Deltaville, VA, constantly has a waiting list and she makes time to teach many private lessons throughout the year, often helping beginning artists get started in watercolor. In 2006, she designed and began teaching annual Travel and Paint plein air workshops in Bermuda and the Florida Keys and continues to teach for local and regional art leagues. “I simply love to teach. My students’ enthusiasm is contagious and energizes my own work which makes teaching classes fun!” she says of the many classes she teaches. “It’s a special joy to see beginning artists frame their first paintings or enter their first art shows.”
Kathleen is a member of the National League of American Pen Women (Art), National Watercolor Society, American Watercolor Society and the Virginia Watercolor Society (Signature Artist Member).
“My paintings and limited edition giclee prints are symbols of the beautiful Chesapeake Bay region and its bounty, created as tributes to a special way of life known to watermen, weekenders, ‘come heres’ and those lucky enough to be born and raised on or near the Chesapeake.”
For information about her giclee prints, original paintings, show schedule, classes and hosting a workshop, Kathleen may be reached at her studio in Virginia by clicking on the contact page in the menu above.