One of the newest members to SaddleBrooke Fine Arts Guild is Katherine Evans. Evans and her husband found SaddleBrooke in the way that many do. They were traveling all over, looking for places to consider retiring to. They visited some friends that were already here, came over the ridge on SaddleBrooke Blvd., saw the mountains, and the rest was history! Along with the views, they loved the golf courses, the activities available and they felt that the people in the community were very welcoming.
Recently retiring in June, and arriving at SaddleBrooke in September 2023, Katherine has already joined a couple of local clubs, one being the “Knit Wits”, a group which knits baby blankets for foster kids. She also discovered the Art Guild, and has enjoyed participating in the Art Salon discussions, and attending the general meetings, as well. She is enjoying retirement, after her long career and turning over the reigns of her volunteer work with her heart project, serving animals in need.
Evans worked in Maryland for 25 years as a self-proclaimed “Government Computer Geek”. While working her day job, she and her husband came up with the idea to address the stray cat problem in the area. They started a non-profit, with their savings, which they named “Rude Ranch Animal Sanctuary”. Staffing the sanctuary with top notch veterinarians helped them stay on task, handling 8,000 spay/neuters per year, along with offering emergency surgeries and dentals. The husband and wife team, Katherine Evans and Bob Rude, handled the administrative part of the business and would often don scrubs to help prep animals for community animal outreach days.
A lifelong love of art helped Katherine use her natural talents to create artwork which could raise funds for their nonprofit, as well as the subsidiary programs, The Spay Spot and Neuter Nook, and Save Cats, also based in Maryland. Her latest project is a book for children and cat-lovers alike, called “The Great Garden Adventure”. This little gem of a book is available on Amazon and in our HOA-1 Gift shop, and the proceeds will benefit Rude Ranch Animal Rescue, as well as the other programs linked to it. This little book is rendered in her favorite medium, colored pencils and one can see why she has earned the nickname of “cat lady”, as the expressions and actions of the kittens are spot on!
When asked why colored pencils are her favorite medium, Evans states that portability is key. She enjoys RV travels often, with her husband, and she can work on something and easily put it away when she is done creating. The supplies take up little space in tight quarters which is ideal!
Some of the couple’s favorite places to visit, aside from National Parks, are animal sanctuaries and rescues. Katherine especially loves to photograph endangered species, and then create animal-based artwork from which she creates prints to sell. The artist has created portraits of ocelots, grey wolves, African cheetahs and more. In turn, she likes to donate a portion of the proceeds right back to the sanctuary from which her art inspiration came from.
If you are interested in learning new art skills or meeting others in the art community, consider joining the SaddleBrooke Fine Arts Guild. You can check their calendar of events and class offerings at saddlebrookefinearts.org.
