About the Artist

I am a surrealist painter driven by experimentation–with an urge to distort, layer, and reassemble memory into something both internal and otherworldly. Working primarily in acrylic, I often incorporate mixed materials, allowing each piece to exist as both image and object. Body figures, fractal patterns, saturated color, sharp contrasts, and fragments of poetry surface and dissolve across the canvas, forming visual languages that mirror the instability of emotion and perception. 

My work explores medical trauma, grief, and the quiet, persistent presence of death. I am drawn to sentimental objects that carry personal history. By embedding them into my paintings, I shift their meaning–transforming them from artifacts of pain into something luminous and bearable. At the core of my practice is a fascination with my experience as a human being. It feels singular, and deeply personal–yet I’ve come to understand that this sense of uniqueness is shared. Painting becomes a way of examining that paradox of tracing how individual memory exists within a larger human condition. 

The act of painting is meditative. As I work, the world recedes and time softens. I enter a focused, suspended space where I can sit fully with a single memory–turning it over, examining what was felt, what was missed, what remains. Each mark becomes a quiet act of release. The canvas absorbs what I no longer need to carry alone. By the end of a piece, something shifts. I feel lighter, as though the weight of an experience has been transferred into the work. The emotion remains, but it is no longer contained solely within myself–it exists as a trace, a record, a transformed presence. While my current work is rooted in personal experience, I feel my focus beginning to expand. I am increasingly drawn to the collective–to the ways our individual lives overlap, echo, and reflect one another. My future work will move toward this shared terrain, exploring what it means to exist not only as one, but as part of a larger human experience. 

I typically present my work in quiet, intimate spaces; inviting viewers to slow down, reflect, and find their own meanings within it. 

Kaitlyn is a Fine Artist born and raised in the Denver metro area. She grew up as the middle child of five and was raised in a Mormon household–though she later stepped away from organized religion. After facing several near-death experiences, her perspective shifted, leading her to develop a more personal and spiritual understanding of life and existence. 

In her early years, Kaitlyn was deeply involved in equestrian sports and had a strong interest in art and music. During adolescence, her life changed as ongoing health challenges led to extended time in hospitals. This replaced her time riding horses. It was during this period that she began turning to art as a way to navigate and document difficult experiences. 

Following a stroke, she faced the challenge of relearning how to create, among other things. Through determination and persistence, she rebuilt her artistic practice from the ground up. This resilience continues to define her life, as she balances her roles as an artist, a mother, and a wife. 

Kaitlyn has had medical struggles with:

Stroke/Cognitive Issues
Hip Dysplasia (Multiple surgeries in childhood)
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Sjogren’s Syndrome (along with a lifetime of uncontrollable nosebleeds and an ever-growing hole in my nose)
Fibromyalgia/Chronic Pain
Inflammatory Alopecia
Miscarriage
Mental Health + Stability / Major Depressive Disorder

Her experiences with the symptoms of each of these has shaped her into the person that she is, and continues to live a survivor’s story. Her art often reflects her feelings reflecting her lifelong struggles, focusing on the human-lived experience. Once she is ready to move on from understanding her own experiences, she hopes to learn more about human experience as a collective.

Kaitlyn’s experiences have also shaped her connection to grief and remembrance. Over the years she has created portraits honoring loved ones who have passed, later expanding on this work to include commissioned pieces for others. Through this, she helps preserve personal histories and create lasting visual tributes for those navigating loss. 

In late 2022, she took the courageous leap to go to Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design to study fine art. She expects to graduate in 2027.

Kaitlyn’s work is rooted in storytelling, perseverance, and a desire to create meaningful connections through shared human experience.