"Paint long enough and it becomes obvious as to which artists are truly connected to their work. Those who are devoted to quality and continuous improvement. Paul Kratter is one such artist. His dedication to working from direct observation, connection to fellow artists and focus on hard work have put him at the top of his game." Matt Smith, American artist.

Paul Kratter's paintings embody the light, atmosphere, and emotion that only an accomplished artist can convey. Paul, along with many experienced fine art painters comes from an illustration background that instills strong drawing and design skills and a robust belief in graphic shapes and storytelling. This is prevalent in Paul's work as a skillful and accomplished landscape artist.

As a young child, Paul loved to draw. It was an entry into the San Francisco Chronicle's weekly drawing contest and a subsequent win that verified he was an artist. His prize, a ticket to the San Francisco Zoo inspired his love for animals and ignited his lifelong passion to represent them in his art.  

After graduating from the College of San Mateo where he received his Associate of Arts degree in Graphic Arts, he enrolled in the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, one of the best commercial art schools in the country. Majoring in Illustration. Drawing, design, and composition along with editorial concepts formed the basis of his studies. Paul started dating his wife, Tia Wallace at school and they married soon after. Both Paul and Tia graduated from the Art Center with a BA of Fine Arts.

Just out of college, Paul started freelancing where he landed exciting jobs working with the NFL properties in Los Angeles who produced all the magazines, books, and publications for the entire NFL. Working with David Boss, the best Art Director he ever worked with, Paul completed over 100 illustrations including six covers of Game Day Magazine.

The highlight for Paul was illustrating a gatefold illustration of the San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in 1981. He also freelanced for a variety of baseball teams including the Los Angeles Dodgers and his favorite, the San Francisco Giants. Sporting themes were always present over his 24 years as an illustrator.

Everything changed in 2002 when Paul attended the very first Sonoma Plein Air event created by artist Keith Wicks and Judy Vadaz of Vadaz Vineyards. His wife, Tia was one of the artist participants. Coming from a background where weeks could be spent on a specific piece, he was taken by the immediacy and freshness of the work. The Artists captured specific moments in time, painting the dramatic light of the day. This deeply resonated with him. Other artists pointed out that chasing the light was impossible and to stick with a plan. This seemed so simple but Paul couldn't wait to experiment with a new media approach he had never considered. The whole experience moved him so much that the next day he went to the art store and bought a set of oils. This event started his career as a landscape painter and he has never looked back.

Paul has gone on to participate in a number of prestigious Plein Air events including Easton Plein Air,  Laguna Plein Air Invitational, Carmel Art Festival, and En Plein Air Texas. He is a respected landscape and wildlife painter.

Wildlife / Africa

"Paul Kratter's love for animals shines through in his wildlife paintings. With skillful drawing and unique design, Paul portrays animals he has encountered on adventurous trips to observe and study them in their natural settings. Paul generously supports causes to ensure the survival of threatened wildlife and creates his paintings with a true understanding of the animal's plight. He often realistically depicts animals contrasted with abstracted backgrounds, bringing a contemporary look to a classic subject matter. Although Paul is adept at many different species, each piece is a unique portrayal of an individual, with emotion and personality brushed onto the canvas." Kathleen Dunphy, American artist

Paul has always been interested in wildlife since he was a child. Whether visiting the San Francisco zoo or his family trips to Glacier National Park where his mother great up in Great Falls, Montana and every other year they would spend one week there & then drive to Flathead Lake and take day trips to Glacier NP where the mountain goats were always plentiful and they would occasionally see a bighorn sheep or black bears.

A few of early wildlife artists Paul greatly admired were skillfully drawn and bold work and Carl Rungius, Bob Kuhn, and Robert Bateman.

In the mid 1990's Paul met his idol, Jane Goodall at one of their son's school function. He did a scratchboard drawing of Leakey, one her favorite chimpanzees and presented her one copy & she signed the other one. It is now framed and proudly adorns a wall in his studio.

Three trips to Africa in 1999 to Kenya and Tanzania, 2015 to Botswana and South Africa and 2019 to South Africa have had a huge impact on his love for the unique wildlife and the people. These three adventures were trips of a lifetime! The family had some incredible guides plus traveling in private game reserves where you can go off road and stay out past nightfall made all the difference and each trip was EPIC. There is a saying that applies to his family, "Africa is now in our blood and we will return again."

During the pandemic at the urging of his wife, Tia suggested that he concentrated on his love of animal paintings. He started working on some unusual surfaces including medal shelves that were scarred, marred and rusted as wells as old highway signs. The surface contracts beautifully with the animals and Paul adds interesting facts and even the plight of these animals on social media to bring awareness to these amazing creatures.

"I've always enjoyed drawing and painting animals but Africa has deeply touched me and my work. Our family is connected to a non profit organization, Global Conservation Corp in South Africa. To learn more look up RHINO MAN for a short trailer about their cause."

The Granite Group

In 2004, Paul and Bill Cone loosely formed The Granite Group. Bill called Paul and asked if he would like trip and paint big granite in the Eastern Sierras. He only wanted to invite artists and to be able to paint from sun up to sun down and not cook or clean. He also wanted the gear portered up to one location and not have to move because the fishing was bad or move every day to another location. "I'm in!" said Paul and so it began. They've had nearly fifty artists join them from all parts of the United States.

"In 2015 on the last day of the trip as we hiked out from Garnet Lake (elevation 10500 feet) and we were just a half mile into the hike when on a steep trail I slipped, stuck out my left leg and all weight landed on my left knee & it felt like it exploded. I dislocated my knee cap and it ended up part way up my thigh. That's not where it belongs and needless to say I was in a great deal of pain. Suzie Baker had a satellite radio and put out an SOS and the message back was it might take up to four hours to be rescued. After five and a half hours a helicopter arrived to take me out. The search and rescue volunteer put me in a basket and the rest of my friends carried me step by step across a creek to where I could be safely hoisted up to the helicopter and flown to a meeting place where an ambulance awaited and I finally could be put on pain medication. Tia drove up to pick me up & we celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary with sparkling cider and some ice cream. I want to thank, Bill, Ernesto Nemesio, Carol Marine, Lori Putnam, Aimee Erickson & Suzie for helping me through a very difficult time. You know how I feel about you. You might think that the accident would make me gun shy but I worked hard to comeback and I'm a little more cautious and just in 2019, three weeks before our trip I dislocated the other knee cap. I felt so bad to miss my first trip but great physical therapy got me back into the mountains and I plan on many more great adventures."

"It is amazing to paint and enjoy the camaraderie one only gets from camping side by side for nearly a week in some of the best mountain scenery anywhere. To stand where Edgar Payne once stood and painted is extraordinary." Paul exclaimed. This is where Paul coined his favorite phrase, "Nailed it". He can often be heard yelling it when painting which translates to, "I'm having fun!" We hope to paint into our seventies and then some of the younger artists can continue to carry the torch.

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