The ‘wildlife’ of Kathy Bassett

One could say that Kathy Bassett of Creston is busy as popcorn on a skillet. As she begins to publically features her art in Creston, the 76-old-artist is starting to rack up custom ordes.

Painting is not a new hobby for Bassett. When she was 16 years old, she received her first Paint-by-Numbers set for Christmas. Six decades later, her paintings – depicting imagery she’s observed in nature throughout her lifetime – are now painted on uncommon objects, mostly at the request of her clients.

Up until her teen years, Bassett, a 1962 graduate of Creston High School, said she had never held a paint brush, but had spent a considerable time sketching and drawing with pencil. However, once she discovered painting, it became her passion.

“I loved the smell of the paint and turpentine and how easily the paint flowed onto the canvas,” said Bassett. “But the whole time I was filling in the lines, I kept thinking how easy it would be to just draw my own pictures and paint them.”

Bassett has never taken formal lessons, but said she accepts hints, suggestions and criticism from other people and professional artists, such as “Mrs. Wilson,” a local woman she recalled from her childhood. She said Wilson’s painting reminded her of the work by American folk artist Anna Mary Robertson Moses, known by her nickname “Grandma Moses.” Moses, like Wilson and Bassett, painted imaged of rural life and nature.

“They were just so cute,” said Bassett, “(Wilson) was telling me one day how she did it.”

Wilson’s method of painting involved taking an image, drawing a grid of small squares across it, then drawing a larger grid with the same amount of squares on a canvas. She would then sketch the image of each square on the canvas before painting it.

Another artist suggested Bassett she use of a projector to transfer the image onto her painting surface.

“I said, ‘Isn’t that cheating?’ He said, ‘No, that’s not cheating ... you can paint anything you want as long as you don’t copy the original painting,’” said Bassett.

Most of the time Bassett simply sketches out images based on the places she has been and the things she has seen.

“I learned how to study nature and really see things. I would say the biggest asset to my painting besides the critics is a 35mm camera. Sometimes in nature, I can sketch my ideas, but then I like to photograph them, take them home and work from them,” Bassett said.

When attempting to paint in nature, Bassett said lighting and the movement of her subjects can become an issue.

“Light changes so fast in nature that sometimes in the 15 to 20 minutes you have an entirely different perspective on whatever you are working on . Also, an animal is not going to hold its pose while you try to paint its picture,” she said.

At Creston Farmers’ Market, Bassett’s oil paintings are painted on the inside of miniature cast iron skillets and on primitive items such as saw blades and kitchen wares. While she paints intricate landscapes inside 3-inch cast iron pans, the smallest surface she’s painted on are arrowheads, which she used to collect on her hikes through Colorado, where she lived for 57 years.

Most interest piece she has painted on was a old stove base, which she discovered during a hike in an area of Colorado called Daisy Springs, which is located on Douglas Mountain.

“There was an old cabin that had once sat there and it was all gone, but this old stove had once sat there,” said Bassett.

Bassett said painting has always been her therapy and she is continuously learning about herself and her environment as she hones her craft and observes her subjects. Her dedication to her art has also garnered the attention and appreciation of many.

In 1983, Bassett entered her work into the Federal Duck Stamp Contest, in which she was a finalist. The event, hosted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service displayed finalists inside the auditorium within the Department of the Interior’s building in Washington D.C. before a national audience and the National Press Corps.

That year was the event’s 50th anniversary. Bassett said for its golden anniversary, she was inspired to paint a sunset.

“I did some Canadian geese and a sunset with cattails and a lake and stuff,” said Bassett.

Bassett said the placement of her work was shocking.

“I just couldn’t believe it,” said Bassett.

Bassett, now 76, said she doesn’t make art to compete or to acquire fame.

“It’s just for fun,” she said.

For more information about Bassett’s wildlife and Western art, email her at kathys.bassett@gmail.com