Recently, I had the opportunity to write about my neighbor and friend @kate_zim_turpin for a lovely Texas Hill Country publication called @rocknvine magazine. I’ve been a fan of Kate’s paintings from the moment she began sharing them on Instagram during lockdown, and have loved watching her growth over the last few years. On a recent spring day, we chatted about her creative process and artistic evolution, our shared love of travel (and Paris, bien sur) and the joys of living in Fredericksburg. Moving to the Hill Country has been a salve and an inspiration for Turpin — as evidenced through the calming colors and quiet rhythm of her layered, light-filled canvases adorned with pastel abstractions of clustered flowers, pastures, rivers, and trees.  Today, she works in a simple shed behind her family’s 1920s farmhouse, where she finds joy in her natural surroundings, and the menagerie of animals who accompany her as she paints. Turpin’s two dogs, Dandy and Penny, frequently stop by to snooze or say hello, while her Christmas present — a donkey named Romeo — drops his head through the open casement windows, lured by the sounds of her painting playlist. (Scroll to the end for a pic!) Amidst the studio’s paint-splattered floors and long wooden tables stacked with art books on Millet, Van Gogh, Hockney, and Bonnard, Turpin is creating a style of her own, not to mention a fast-burgeoning following around the globe. 🌎 Her story is printed in the spring issue of Rock & Vine Magazine and also available to read online! Thank you Kate for the gifts of your friendship and your beautiful art. 🌿🎨💚✍️ 📸: @kate_zim_turpin @daniellelochtephotography