Kim's adventurous lifestyle and dedication to environmental conservation has shaped all aspects of her life.  Understanding what influences her life will give insight into her art and the passion that goes into producing a piece.

My brother, sister and I over looking Sitka, AK.

I was fortunate to grow up in the remote island community of Sitka, Alaska in a nature-loving family. I developed an independent, adventurous and inquisitive personality with a strong appreciation for nature. This small community nestled in bear country with its abundant wilderness encouraged us to invent our own entertainment. Our childhood games consisted of playing tag in the trees while not touch the ground, daring each other to swim in the ocean with snow on the ground and playing "Jacque Cousteau" using a large tree root as our submarine.

Sitka is dappled with hundreds of islands and bays and most people either boat or fly in floatplanes to remote areas to go camping. Our family outings were just as adventurous and becoming stranded for 24-hours when the plane could not pick us up due to bad weather, did not deter us. We collected berries, clams and mussels for food and relished our extra day of vacation. As with many living in the temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, camping in the rain was common. When our family ventured "down south" (anywhere south of Alaska), we went from the wild into the wild, spending most of our time in the mountains of the West.

Camping Alaskan style

One of my students in Africa

After majoring in biology and chemistry at Western Washington University, I worked as an analytical and research chemist for a large wood product conglomerate. I learned to fly small aircraft, scuba dive and spent my time birding, traveling and backpacking. I became disheartened working in the timber industry and corporate America, so I volunteered with the US Peace Corps. I taught junior-high science in a remote village in Botswana. While abroad, I toured nine African countries, white-water rafted the Zambezi River, hitchhiked across the Kalahari Desert, swam in crocodile infested waters and had numerous encounters with the local wildlife. Tent camping in the bush of Africa is always interesting. Hearing the lions call just beyond the light of the fire, spending a nervous night with hyenas in my camp and waking to elephants grazing the bushes next to me were part of my African experiences.

Birds have always been a part of my life. At an early age, I kept pet birds, rescued sick and injured birds and recorded the birds I saw around Sitka. When I returned to the States after Peace Corps, I focused my efforts on blending my career with my passion for birds. While working for the Alaska Raptor Center and The Peregrine Fund, I trained birds of prey and corvids for public programs; cared for a variety of birds in captive collections; rehabilitated sick and injured birds; conducted avian field research and taught ornithology and environmental education.  I am also a life-long birder and travel extensively to bird watch.

Using radio telemetry to track Harpy Eagles in Panama

Training a permanently injured Bald Eagle for educational programs.

Working this closely with birds has allowed me to study their behavior, anatomy and physiology, and individual personalities, as well as given me an opportunity to share a part of their lives. I have witnessed a young Northern Shrike successfully overcome an equally-sized Hairy Woodpecker, experienced the close bond with a human imprinted raptor, watched the soap-operatic lives of my backyard birds, and fought to save the lives of birds injured by mankind in hopes to help balance some of the negativities imposed by humanity. One of the most impressionable insights I gained, while working with birds, was my first release of a rehabilitated bird back to the wild. I gently tossed the gull into the air and saw it take flight. How wonderful to see it free again. Within seconds of its release, a Bald Eagle flew down, snatched it out of the air, took it to a tree and ate it. Once the shock wore off, I was awed at the raw, detachedness of what I had witnessed. Nature is all about survival with "no holds barred."

The complexity of the avian world continues to amaze me. Their detailed feather patterns, savagery of nest site competition, devotion to their young, unique adaptations and behaviors are inspirations for my art. My intent is to spark the viewer’s interest in birds through compelling compositions, evoked emotions and emphasizing particular attributes. I hope to increase awareness and appreciation for birds in order to generate more dialogue and action for environmental conservation through the viewer.

"Captive" -Bateleur Eagle, 7x8 inches, oil on board.