ABOUT THE ARTIST

K.C. Snider, an honors graduate from The Eugene School for Art, is a prominent Oregon artist. Her love of the western life and of wildlife has been developed since her youth, with her natural talent for drawing and color exhibited since she was ten years old. She has shared her talents as an Art Instructor at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon. Her painting, the “Brothers of the Wolves I”, has been published by Colorado’s Leanin’ Tree, Inc. Her painting, “Spirit of the Hunter,” was chosen by Leanin’ Tree for the 2006 Christmas card line.

Originally specializing in Western Art, K.C. has branched out into a variety of styles and subjects. Her collection of oil paintings, lithographs, and pencil drawings include portraits of the All-American Cowboy and Cowgirl and their lifestyles of days gone by. Recently, K.C. has been sculpting using a variety of subjects including cowboys, domestic animals and other funny caricatures and is working on her first bronze, “The All-American Cowgirl.”

K.C.’s paintings incorporate horses of all breeds, majestic wolves and buffalo herds, as well as eagles and other native birds of prey, in their rustic natural habitats. The western terrain in her art is not only very detailed, but it also transcends time. Now a resident of Redmond, Oregon, K.C. is inspired by the natural beauty of the high desert of Central Oregon. In some of her works, if one looks closely, the visions of spirits create an inspiring visual impact. K.C. has a gift for capturing the shimmering iridescence of the spirit world. In her reverent detail, one can almost hear the howl of wolves and the trampling of running horses on dusty trails as their stories depicted on the canvases come to life in the mind’s eye.

K.C.’s artwork has won many awards during her long career. Her rainbow collection of prize ribbons from all over the Northwest is as colorful as her work. Recently, K.C. has won plaques from the 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 Western Art Roundup at Winnemucca, Nevada. She has won prizes in several categories, as well as the prestigious Snaffle Bit Award for her authentic Western Art, the Pioneer Award for the depiction of life on the High Desert, and the Indian Heritage Award for her piece titled, “Hope of the White Buffalo.”

K.C. has just completed illustrating two children’s’ books, “The Christmas Angel,” with author Mary Jean Kelso and “The Magic Violin,” with Mayra Calvani.

Both books are being published by Guardian Angel Publishing and will also be available as an e-Book. “The Christmas Angel” has been an instant success with children, teachers and grandmothers alike. It tells the tale of a young girl who travels with her family to Oregon in the 1830’s on the Oregon Trail and protects a very precious possession, the family’s Christmas tree topper, a porcelain angel. She has now finished illustrations for Andy And The Albino Horse, the first book in a series about an albino horse named “Spirit” and the special children who get to know her due to be published April 2008. And the sequel to The Christmas Angel titled One Family's Christmas is now due in Summer 2008, with the second Andy and Spirit book, Andy And Spirit Go To The Fair, due in Fall 2008

K.C. has been commissioned to paint special subjects. A crowd pleaser is “Winnie, the Cat,” for Betty Hale.

Eeyore, the lop-eared horse, has been a great success.

“A Day in the Life of Andrew,” a commissioned piece for the 2007 Healing Reins fund-raising benefit was recently sold at the benefit auction, “Diamonds and Dust,” then the painting was donated to Andrew’s family by the group of winning bidders as a memento of Andrew’s experience with the special horses and volunteers at Healing Reins in Bend, Oregon.