By Ron James

Eight years ago, Ari Kate Ashton made a decision that would dramatically and forever change her life. Prior to that, for nearly two decades, the Virginia native and educator had lived in the suburban enclave of Tierrasanta doing the things that Tierrasantans do — until the day she had an epiphany.

“It was RV world there in Tierrasanta,” Ashton recalled. “There was something inside me that was missing. I had always loved art, although I never took any classes or had any art experience. I woke up one morning and decided to paint. I told myself why not? How hard can this be? I can do this. I was too naive to think I couldn’t.”

She purchased art supplies and set up her first canvas. “Then I stared at it — and stared some more at that blank canvas,” Ashton said, smiling at the memory. “So I said the heck with it and smeared some paint on my hands and then started smearing it on the canvas.”

That simple act was liberating, but it didn’t translate into the creative release she was hoping for. She needed to paint something — some object that she knew well and felt a deep connection to.

The answer? Coffee cups.

“I love coffee. It’s the magic elixir, ” Ashton explained with a chuckle. “So I decided to paint coffee cups. Not the coffee cups themselves, but paintings of coffee cups. All kinds and colors of happy coffee cups. It came naturally. I didn’t learn color theory, I’ve always had an instinctive feel for color usage. When I paint something I think about how it would look in one of my rooms.”

Did Ashton think she would do for coffee cups what Claude Monet did for haystacks? “I actually sold a few,” she recalled with a laugh. “A gallery in town liked them — they liked my style. The gallery owner told me that I had a real talent and encouraged me to expand my horizons.”

As much as Ashton loved coffee cups, she knew she would have to move on to her next artistic phase. “I decided then that I was an artist and I could even make a little money at it,” she said. “I increasingly began to explore abstract expressionism. I began taking a few art classes and going to art shows and started meeting other artists.”

Ashton felt that her lack of formal art education actually benefited her budding career: “I met a lot of artists who had degrees in art. Most of them had been taught that there were certain rules in art, and that it would be practically impossible to make a living actually creating art. And so most of them just didn’t work at it. I call it educational paralysis. I had no rules, I didn’t know that I couldn’t make a living at it. I had no fear.”

Ashton’s move to her Mission Hills studio and home had another profound influence on her work. Walk into her Ibis Street Arts and Crafts bungalow and you are wholly immersed into her artist’s world. Unlike the carefully preserved exterior, the interior of the historic home has been completely remodeled into a modern home studio that could be featured in Architectural Digest.

Ashton’s art is displayed on almost every wall of this open and airy space. Her work area along a wall of the living room is flooded with light from a half dozen large skylights. Adding to the room’s creative atmosphere are colorful eclectic treasures, like wooden angels, some airborne, Mexican folk art and her two cats, Romeo and Tuffy le Deux.

“The first time I walked into the house, I knew I loved it,” said Ashton. “The light from the skylights was perfect for an artist. And I love Mission Hills. People here have artistic sensibilities; it’s reflected in the way they care for their neighborhoods and homes. And there’s a strong artist community here. I’ve talked with many of my artist friends in Mission Hills about opening up our studios to the public once a year.”

As you move from room to room in Ashton’s home you can see how far she has traveled artistically since her “coffee cup” days. Her bold paintings run from rich earth tones and monochromatic grays to eye-dazzling primary reds and yellows. And just about all of them display her trademark glazing style.

“All artists look for a style,” Ashton explained, “You can tell if an artist is just copying someone else’s style — it normally doesn’t resonate with people who see it. We need to paint who we are, with inner complexity and get lost in our work. We need to go exploring and have ‘happy accidents.’ For a time I didn’t think I would find a style, but when my work finally resonated with me, people recognized the authenticity of my work.”

One of those “happy accidents” was the wellspring of Ashton’s distinctive glazing and layering style. “It happened during a very sad time in my life. I started painting a canvas with yellows, hoping the bright colors would cheer me up,” she recalled.

Almost mindlessly she painted and repainted the canvas with various shades of acrylic glaze. After several days of repeating this process, she felt better. But when she looked at the painting, she was amazed by what she had done. The hundreds of repeated strokes and layers of glaze had given the painting a life and depth she had never before attained.

“Glazing is an important part of my technique,” she points out in her artist’s statement. “I create layer upon layer of color to give a sense of depth and mystery. The glazing creates unpredictable colors through the use of light rather than pigment alone. The lustre of the glaze tends to give the acrylics the rich look of oils.”

Today, Ashton has made her mark as a San Diego visual artist and art educator. Her work hangs in galleries and homes around the country. She doesn’t paint as feverishly as she did in her earlier years, but has settled into a creative flow that suits her busy lifestyle, which includes helping budding artists find their own style.

“I love being a teacher because art can be life changing,” Ashton said with a knowing smile. “And now I can inspire others to experience it. One of the most satisfying experiences of my life was when a student came to me and said, ‘Thank you so much Kate, my life is so much better with art’.”

And that is something Ashton knows from experience. “Art is for the rest my life,” she said. “I keep finding more in my art — l keep on blooming.”

Ari Kate Ashton’s work is available in galleries and upon commission. She teaches at the San Diego Art Department in North Park. Her website is www.akashton.com.

Ron James is a veteran journalist whose columns and features have appeared in newspapers and magazines across the country.