Ruth Kackstaetter

Ruth comes from a very artistic family and fell in love with oil painting at 12 years old. She continued to take every art class possible throughout high school and early college. Eventually continuing on to the Art Institute of Colorado to pursue a degree in Interior Design. Many of these classes overlapped to improve art as well, including technical perspectives, rendering, and architectural drawing, line weights, color theory, and color psychology. At 23, she escaped a domestically violent relationship by joining the military and served in the U.S. Army as a Truck Driver (88M) attached to an infantry battalion for 6 years. With an injury sustained during training, Ruth was forced to medically retire from the armed services and worked as a Firearms Instructor and Range Safety Officer while pursuing a degree in Marriage and Family Studies with an emphasis on Child Advocacy. In April of 2023 Ruth took a leap-of-faith to pursue art professionally. In August the same year she entered her first major art competition and placed 1st in Oil Painting as well as the People’s Choice Award at the Cheyenne/Northern Colorado Regional 2023 VA Creative Arts Competition. In September she seized the opportunity to attend a workshop by artist Dallan Lambson to further improve her skills. She is currently based in Colorado and paints full-time while raising 2 kids as a single mother. She loves nature and can frequently be found in the mountains, especially during summer. Her art is recognized through copious amounts of detail and vibrant colors. She does commission work as well as freelance.