Artist and Illustrator Kathleen Peterson Has Illustrated Over 20 Books and Mastered Several Mediums Since Studying Art at BYU
Artist Kathleen Peterson grew up two blocks east of the BYU creamery in the Tree Streets neighborhood. Peterson's first experience with BYU was visiting her dad’s office in the Harris Fine Arts Center, as he taught speech and public speaking in BYU’s communications department.
Little did Peterson know she would later study art in the same building. She expressed an interest in art at a young age, drawing on paper and decorating sidewalks with chalk.
“In kindergarten and first grade, there is always a student in the class who draws horses for everybody. That was me,” Peterson said. “All my friends thought I was an artist, and my mom did too. So I thought I was an artist and never questioned that.”
After graduating from Provo High School and receiving a scholarship, Peterson decided to attend BYU. While she wanted to follow her passion and study fine art, her parents suggested studying something more “solid.”
“I said, ‘Well, all I want to do is art.’ And my dad said, ‘Well, how about commercial art?’”
At the time, BYU had a commercial art program focused on designing layouts and lettering, which would prepare Peterson to work in advertising.
“I took classes in layout, lettering and basic design,” Peterson said. “I took one oil painting class, one watercolor class and an illustration class because I thought I might want to do books. I did not like what I was doing because it was not fine art.”
While commercial art was a good foundation for Peterson, she was anxious to get through the program, wanting to paint and draw her own creations rather than advertisements. Several of her professors encouraged her passion for illustration and drawing, which motivated her to pursue fine art after graduating.
After being accepted into the commercial art program and taking several classes, Peterson was blown away by her talented peers. Surrounded by other artists, she struggled to feel unique.
“My self-esteem just went, ‘I am not the class artist anymore. I am just one of 50 in the class.’ I lost my confidence in art, and I got discouraged about even finishing,” Peterson said. “I almost changed my major senior year as I thought, ‘Oh, I am just not an artist. Everybody in my class is better than me.’”
After checking how many credits she had left, Peterson realized she was close to graduating and decided to persevere. After graduating from BYU and leaving Provo, Peterson audited art classes at the University of Hawaii, where her husband taught.
She fell in love with a class focused on batik, the art of painting designs on fabric. The process begins with applying melted wax to silk or cotton, then dyeing the fabric. Batik became her first medium.
Later, Peterson audited a watercolor class at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, and the technique became her second medium. She later explored oil pastel, which she used to illustrate books.
“I wanted to illustrate books,” Peterson said. “So my mother said, ‘I am going to write a book and have you illustrate it.’”
Peterson created illustrations for a book her mother wrote about her experience teaching home living, a class about families and budgeting, at Provo High School.
“She took my illustrations and went to Deseret Book and said, ‘You need to publish this book for me. And here are the illustrations by my daughter.’ They said they would publish it. That was my first book — all because she pushed me into it,” Peterson said.
She continued illustrating books with oil pastels — a chalklike material that echoed her childhood days spent decorating sidewalks. Since her first book, Peterson has illustrated more than 20 published books.
“I was not trying to earn a living with it. I was not trying to please a teacher. I was just following my passion,” Peterson said.
Peterson advises current BYU students to seek out enriching learning experiences.
“Anytime students pursue education for learning, not just for a degree, I think it is awesome,” Peterson said.
She recalls advice her parents gave her: “Try to find out who the very best teachers are in your program or at the school, and just take whatever they are teaching.”
She credits passionate teachers with igniting her desire to learn.
“I am grateful for the great teachers at BYU,” Peterson said. “I was able to bounce around and take classes from amazing, successful, wonderful teachers who inspired me.”
Peterson hopes students follow their hearts and pursue something they care about.
“Do not go after the dollar. Go after your passions,” Peterson said. “Because the more you go after what you love, I think the money will come.”
Peterson has begun turning down restrictive shows, commissions and deadlines. She finds joy in creating the artwork she believes is exciting and important to make.
“Now I just paint what I love,” Peterson said. “And I am able to sell my paintings, which is really a lucky place to be.”
Visit this link to discover more of Peterson's artwork.