Self Portrait with Coat (2020)

In my painting practice, I hone and translate my understanding of what it is to be human both emotionally and physically. Whether using direct observation or a constructed image, my intent is to create an environment of emotion, empathy and witness for the viewer, the subject and myself. Each of my paintings is a world unto itself and each element in the painting communicates the often momentary zeitgeist of the subject’s life. Unusual color combinations, dramatic emotional gesture, a large scale, and strong mark making are some of my most favorite techniques to transmit the beauty and wildness of the human experience.

KT Eisler (b. 1968) is a figurative oil painter raised in the wilds of 1970s and 80s Los Angeles. These two decades of radical cultural change coupled with the inherent freedom of being part of Gen X gave her a profound curiosity into the physical and psychological human condition. In witnessing diametrically opposing mores and conventions, KT began to question the validity of what she was told was socially acceptable, in other words - what she was told was reality. These concerns and inquiries into perception and consensual reality, with roots in a strict Victorian yet liberal upbringing, are a mainstay of her current work.

KT began her artistic life studying figurative sculpture as a teenager in Los Angeles. With a great deal of exposure to art, she began to relate to and admire artists such as Cindy Sherman, Robert Rauschenberg, Ed Ruscha, Eric Fischl and Robert Motherwell. KT attended Bennington College where she learned found object sculpture, assemblage, and had a practical education in Abstract Expressionism. 

In 2017, she joined the Kang-O’Higgins Atelier at Gage Academy in Seattle, Washington. This was in response to her growing appetite for mastery in two dimensional communication. Concurrent with her time in the Atelier, KT studied figurative and narrative painting for two consecutive years in Rome, Italy. The Italian Baroque became a significant inspiration and scaffold for her to build upon. KT was awarded multiple times for her portraiture while at Gage and her work has been shown in galleries consistently, including a solo show in 2023 through the Kirkland Art Center and King County Library System. 

In addition to KT’s personal artistic pursuits, she serves as an active board member of the KinderLife Foundation, which has changed her life and art so powerfully that  she shudders to think where she would be without it. KT is part of the Kang-O’Higgins Atelier teaching staff and is a co-founder of Supafloof Games, with her husband, Craig Eisler. Together they have raised their two children and all four call the Pacific Northwest home.