Katherine Renee Barnes

Artist, Designer, & Teacher

I am a small-town girl from rural Missouri who loves afternoon drives on old dirt roads. While working towards my MFA at the University of South Florida, I fell in love with the ocean. Many years later I followed that love for being near the beach to coastal NC. Starting with a childhood obsession with Rainbow Brite and color books, I have been pursuing a life as an artist. I have a studio where I experiment with different mediums but primarily focus on painting and drawing. I am also a graphic/web designer and educator.

In my body of fine art works, I investigate the longing to grasp onto the transient aspects of memories, dreams, spirituality, and self-assessment as they manifest within spatial contexts. My creative process falls within the investigation of deconstructing and recreation of forms and spaces.

As a designer, I am a passionate and creative problem solver with a deep appreciation for design’s impact on visual communication and branding. I love strategizing visual layouts and designs to help elevate branding, communicate messaging, and solve problems for clients with creative solutions.

As an educator, I love telling the stories behind the images and helping others learn how to visually express ideas creatively as well as articulate their own conclusions by being critically inquisitive.