Dear friends and collectors,
August has arrived, and with it comes one of my favorite times of year in Santa Fe. It’s festival season, culminating in the energy and excitement of Indian Market. Here in the studio, I’m focused on final preparations for my solo exhibition West: Reimagined, opening Friday, August 28th from 5 to 7 PM at Blue Rain Gallery. This month’s newsletter is dedicated to the show, including a reflection inspired by a recent interview, a preview of a featured painting, and details about the opening. I hope you’ll enjoy this first look, and I look forward to seeing you at the show!
Warmly,
Kathryn
West: Reimagined
In West: Reimagined, Stedham offers a distinctive contemporary voice within the evolving tradition of Western art. This carefully curated exhibition represents the culmination of more than three decades of artistic exploration. Its select body of work moves beyond depictions of place to examine the enduring relationships among landscape, memory, light, and imagination.
“I don't paint places exactly as I saw them," Stedham says. "I paint what remains with me: the light, the rhythm, the feeling of being there. I curate my memories, allowing the elements within a painting to speak to one another. My paintings create a space where reality and imagination converge, inviting a glimpse beyond seeing.”
KATHRYN STEDHAM
West: Reimagined
August 28 - September 10, 2026 - Santa Fe
Artist Reception: Friday, August 28th from 5-7 pm
Blue Rain Gallery
544 South Guadalupe Street | Santa Fe, NM 87501
Selections from the show, West: Reimagined, 2026
Musings: Beyond labels
As I prepared for West: Reimagined, I was interviewed about this new body of work. One question stayed with me. How would you describe these paintings? Earlier in my career, I had a ready answer. I was known as a landscape painter, but after more than 35 years of painting professionally, I’ve come to realize that labels may be useful, but they rarely tell the whole story. My foundation is in the figure, years spent drawing and painting from life. Landscape came later. Today I simply paint what captures my imagination. Sometimes a landscape becomes a portrait. Sometimes a figure suggests a story. Sometimes it’s Pueblo architecture or light across a familiar mesa. The subject matters less than the painting itself. What matters most to me now is making the strongest paintings I know how to make. I’m still studying, still experimenting, and still discovering. That process of discovery is what continues to inspire me. The works in West Reimagined grew from experiences that stayed with me, places I’ve wandered, people I’ve met, moments I tucked away hoping they’d find their way onto a canvas someday. Not to document exactly what I saw, but to express what remained. West Reimagined reflects where I am as an artist today, shaped by decades of observation, curiosity, and growth. I hope you’ll join me Friday, August 28th at Blue Rain Gallery. I look forward to sharing this collection with you and discovering which paintings resonate most deeply with you.
Getting serious with some paintings!
Off The Easel | Featured Painting
This painting grew out of a Christmas Eve experience. My husband and I spent the evening at Taos Pueblo, where the bonfires lit up the plaza and the cottonwoods glowed against the winter night. That contrast, cold air, firelight, lingering glow in the sky, captured something essential about Christmas in northern New Mexico. I wanted to paint that quiet balance between shadow and warmth. Tradition and community, and a moment of spirit that’s simply part of everyday life here.
Bonfires at San Geronimo Chapel, Taos Pueblo
30 by 36 inches | oil on canvas.
