Kathryn Sixbey

Since childhood, Sixbey has been interested in the study of all natural things that her environment offered her. Growing up, she observed and drew animals, landscapes, and her family and friends. Sixbey pursued her artistic interests at the Memphis College of Art as a painting major and following college worked as a graphic artist and illustrator. She went on to become an art director at Buntin Advertising in Nashville, TN, and later an art director at Towery Publishing in Memphis, TN. In 2002, she continued her painting education with The Contemporary Realist Academy under the tutelage of Kate Manzo. “Finally, I was among painters who were just as inspired by the old masters as I was,” states Sixbey. Manzo, who was trained abroad under Ted Seth Jacobs and others shared her professional skills at the Contemporary Realist Academy that she and others founded in Memphis, TN. Beginning in 2010, Kathryn worked for eight years as an art therapist for Mid South Health Systems, an adult behavioral health company. During her employment, she founded “Art and Soul”, an annual art show including works from over a hundred client artists and six counties. “It was one of the most rewarding endeavors of my career, helping those realize their self-worth while on a creative journey towards recovery,” states Sixbey. Her travels with her work also proved inspirational for her own artistic practice as she drove through the rural roads of the Arkansas delta experiencing the seasonal changes that it offered. Sixbey’s work has been exhibited and collected throughout the Mid-South.