ABOUT KATHRYN FORTSON

Lyda Kathryn Fortson was born in Americus, Georgia, but only lived there a couple of years before her parents relocated to the Atlanta area, where she grew up the youngest child in a large and boisterous family. Like many artists, from a very early age it became evident that young Kathryn's most fulfilling pastime was anything creative ...Lite Brite, Play Dough, crayons, paints, Etch a Sketch, paper mâché and more. As a teen, she showed keen interest in artists such as Kandinsky, Picasso, Rothko, Max and other abstract painters who would later inspire her in her own work.

Fortson attended college at Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida and later studied Graphic Design at the Portfolio Center in Atlanta. Her career as a professional painter began in the mid 90's when she asked a local coffee shop if they would like some of her art to hang and sell on their blank walls. A gallery owner found her work there, and subsequently offered Fortson her first representation.

Over the years, she has participated in many juried shows, festivals, group and solo exhibitions throughout Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Fortson relocated to California and then Florida in early 2000, returning "home" to Georgia in 2003. In 2004 a publishing company offered to represent her, and to date, she has 14 designs of her early work sold Internationally as posters.

Currently, Fortson is represented by Timothy Michael Gallery in Roswell, Georgia, John H. Brown Fine Art in Nashville, Tennessee and Winn Devon Art Group in Richmond, BC, Canada. She occasionally opens her studio in Roswell, Georgia for shows and private viewing.