About the Artist

Kathryn Paxton-Hill

Kathryn Paxton was born in 1957, one of six children, and grew up in the small college town of Oberlin, Ohio. There she was exposed to a wealth of cultural knowledge from her parents, the town, and the college. Kathryn always thought that she would be an artist. She didn't know what kind, but she often imagined being an illustrator of children's books, or even painting like Michelangelo. She had the good fortune of attending Saturday art classes run by the college and spending a good deal of her time roaming around Allen Art Museum. Here she was exposed to ancient art and works by artists such as, Rembrandt, Joseph Cornell, and Chuck Close. At the age of 16, while still in high school, Kathryn was accepted as a special student to Oberlin College. She took both a painting and an etching class. In the evenings, she attended free life drawing classes in the basement of the museum. (pen and ink 1973)

In the winter of 1976, Kathryn began attending Ohio State University where she continued to study both painting and printmaking. At this time she found another world-"abstract art.". Although she still enjoyed representational works, she began to work solely in an abstract style. Kathryn became very interested in Josef Albers and the study of color. She also developed a fascination with sculpture. Woman artists like Eve Hesse and Athena Tacha inspired much thought. During this period Kathryn was a recipient of a Ford Foundation Grant. She graduated in 1979 with a BFA in Painting and Printmaking.

The following fall, Kathryn moved to Baltimore, Maryland. Here she became involved with a women's art group and started to really focus on women artists like, Alice Neel, Mary Cassatt, Judy Chicago, and Dorothy Gillespie. She was still working in the abstract when, in 1981, she was accepted to the Hoffberger School of Painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art. She spent two years there, working with artist, Grace Hartigan, director of Hoffberger. During this period, she met her future husband, Steve Hill. Steve was a graduate student at the Rinehart School of Sculpture. They both graduated with their respective MFA's in the Spring of 1983 and were married later that year. At this time, they both changed their names to Paxton-Hill.

A year later, Kathryn, Steve and their new daughter, Victoria, moved to Havre de Grace, Maryland. They took up residence in Bright Water, an old stone farm house overlooking the Susquehanna River. There, they built up a small farm where they raise both sheep and Border Collies. The farm, along with motherhood and an interior decorating business kept Kathryn so busy that her dreams of creating art remained almost dormant until recently. Her business, which started as just painting and paperhanging, grew to include faux finishes, murals, and a color and design consultation service. A little over five years ago, her daughter went off to college, and Kathryn found more time to devote to her own art. Her interest in studying nature and realism took hold of her again. And with more time and renewed passion, Kathryn founded Bright Water Studio.

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