NW Reflections at Kindred Circle

Seattle artist and doctor Kathy Collins believes the Puget Sound is the most beautiful place on the planet. Capturing its misty waterways in watercolors, her newest series is titled “Northwest Reflections,” now on display at Kindred Circle Art Gallery through Sept. 15.

Collins says that watercolors are an excellent medium for portraying the right mood for the translucency of our skies and water.

A morning person by nature, Collins awakens early and gets out her brush to start the day. Quite prolific now, she finds great joy in capturing the beauty of our Northwest scenery. She spends a lot of time dwelling in marshy wetlands, sitting on riverbanks and participating in any other water-meets-land sort of place. When not actually in it, she paints it and surrounds herself with it in her home.

Collins cannot remember a time when she didn’t have a paintbrush in her hand. She recalls sketching the family cat rather frequently as a child. After winning first prize at the Bellevue Arts Fair at the age of 10, she was awarded $10 in art supplies.

Nevertheless, her parents steered her toward what they felt were more practical directions, and thus she pursued her interest in science. Even here she incorporated her artistic skills with the diagrams needed for biology class while taking art classes on the side. However, she pursued science and ultimately ended up in medical school. Now she and her husband are both doctors in Seattle.

About 18 years ago, she got the art bug again through scientific illustrations. With her children growing up, she felt free to find time in her day to paint again. Watercolors won her over completely due to the way the transparency of the medium captures our glorious skies and water.

Collins’ “Northwest Reflections” series is currently on display at Kindred Circle Art Gallery, located at 409 Main Street in downtown Edmonds. For directions and examples of Collins’ paintings, visit www.KindredCircle.com or call 425-776-3778.