KATHRYN RUTHERFORD

Fine Artist

Kathryn Rutherford is extremely proud to own and operate the Heirloom Art Studio, an award winning fine art and restoration studio with an international reputation for creating intensely colourful and richly textured original oil , watercolour and digital paintings and portraits. Although her work crosses many styles, techniques and a variety of subject matter, her signature trademark is one of rich colour, dynamic composition and dramatic contrast.

As a classically trained realist artist and certified art instructor, Kathryn excels in the creation of one of a kind portraits, original works of fine art and photography, embellished watercolours, handcoloured photographs, the preservation and restoration of original photographs and fine art and the duplication or reproduction of images in prints and specialty merchandise. With husband, Greg Rutherford, and his company, Mystic Ink, they offer artists, photographers, businesses and the public unique services such as photographic and giclee printing, dye sublimation, custom screenprinting and advertising & promotional specialty printing.

Born in 1957, in Ontario, Canada, Kathryn began her professional art career at the age of 15 when she was hired to paint watercolour portraits at an amusement park on an island in the Detroit River. Her artistic talents resulted in the awarding of several full scholarships to several colleges and universities throughout North America. She graduated Cum Laude, Dean's List from Arizona State University with an Honors Bachelor of Art Education Degree with majors in Painting & Drawing and minors in Art History, Music, Psychology and later Special Education. She holds teaching licenses for high school and college in both Canada and the United States and also has an extensive background in theatre and costume design.

Heirloom Art Studio opened full time in 1980 and, in addition to original paintings and portraiture, excels in the conservation and restoration of photographs and fine art and the reproduction of artwork and photographic images. Works of art have been shipped to seventeen countries throughout the world, exhibited in some of the most prestigious places and been recognized with some of the highest honors in the art and photographic industries.

Kathryn's exacting skills have earned her a long list of awards and degrees from the Professional Photographers of America, Ontario, Detroit, Michigan and Tennessee. She was the first person outside of the United States to obtain the coveted Photographic Artisan and Laurel Degrees from the American Photographic Artisans Guild.

Her art work has been juried into a multitude of exhibitions with many pieces receiving Best of Show and Awards of Distinction and has been named Artist of the Year twice in Michigan and three times Tennessee. In 1990, one outstanding photographic restoration was chosen by the Eastman Kodak Company to hang at Epcot Center, Florida, as part of a special photographic exhibit honoring the 150th anniversary of the invention of the Daguerreotype (the first camera). In 1999, Kathryn was presented the Masterpiece Award by the Fuji Photo Film Corporation, Inc. This honor, traditionally awarded to a professional photographer for photographic excellence, is the highest award given within the photographic industry. The Masterpiece was presented for an image reconstructed using a photographic process Kathryn developed to restore blackened tintypes.

In 2005, an original oil painting created especially for the American Kennel Club was chosen as first runner-up for the AKC/Eukanuba National Dog Championship Poster Competition. A second original painting was honored as the award winning entry for the 2006 competition and subsequently printed as the national advertising poster, program book cover and incidental advertising promotions for that year's competition events. Kathryn and husband, Greg, were hosted to an all-expense paid trip to Long Beach, California to attend the competition, personalize and sign posters and meet with championship dogs, owners, breeders and AKC members attending the show.

Since 1996, Greg and Kathryn Rutherford have located their businesses in the picturesque surroundings of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Each maintains their own working studio on three and a half acres of mountain property and together they operate Outstanding Expectations, a gift shop specializing in the sale of dollhouses and miniatures, unique jewelry and gifts, international teas, handmade items and is known as the only full scale kite store in the State of Tennessee.

Greg and Kathryn have one daughter, Tania Renae, who holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Technology with a specialty in Digital Animation. She was presented the East Tennessee State University "Outstanding Character Modeling Student of the Year" award two years in a row and is well on her way to an interesting and rewarding career as she seeks full-time employment in locations throughout the world.

Kathryn judges, lectures, and conducts workshops throughout North America and, when not studying and upgrading her own education or teaching in the public school system, is a full time studio artist.