"About Master Artist, Kathleen Carrillo
"Wild Life and Wild Women, Are Both Endangered Species"
Kathleen Carrillo
Is a Mexican American contemporary painter based in Puerto Vallarta. Her Practice explores identity, resilience, and the layered realities of the human experience through figurative compositions integrating collage, fragmentation, and expressive mark-making to examine cultural narratives.
Creating Storytelling with brush and color
Love what happens and what it can say". Purposeful Colorful Magic is my intention and goal!"
Contemporary Figurative Painting
Kathleen Carrillo is a Mexican American contemporary painter based in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Working primarily in acrylic on canvas, her practice explores identity, resilience, and the layered realities of the human experience through figurative compositions. Her work integrates collage, fragmentation, and expressive mark-making to examine themes of gender, inclusion, and cultural narrative. Her paintings are held in private collections internationally and are exhibited in gallery and cultural context.
Today, Kathleen lives a bohemian lifestyle, dividing her time between her artist’s salon above the gallery in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and a coastal cottage in San Diego, California, overlooking a peaceful lagoon. Her outdoor studio in San Diego is available for visits by appointment only.
Each year, Kathleen also spends one to two months in Europe, where she teaches week-long luxury painting workshops and explores the magical destinations that continue to inspire her signature series of Whimsical Architecture paintings
Education, Heritage & Artistic Foundations
Kathleen Carrillo began her formal art education while raising her family in Oklahoma. Supported by her multicultural heritage, perseverance, and academic excellence, she earned scholarships that allowed her to complete her studies and pursue advanced artistic training. Her passion for learning led her to receive a Master’s Degree in Painting and Printmaking, a foundation that profoundly influences her work today. Kathleen’s deep understanding of color theory, composition, and printmaking techniques continues to shape the richness, texture, and layered meaning found throughout her original paintings.
A Family of Makers & Storytellers
Growing up in Southern California, Kathleen was surrounded by creativity. Her father, a skilled furniture maker and gardener, created nurturing spaces filled with beauty and imagination. He even built her an elaborate playhouse—complete with handcrafted furniture—fostering her belief that creativity belongs in everyday life.
Kathleen’s mother was an accomplished animator who worked for over fifty years in Hollywood, contributing to studios such as Disney, Warner Brothers, Hanna-Barbera, DePatie Freleng, and Kurtz & Friends. Watching animation come to life frame by frame left a lasting imprint on Kathleen’s sense of movement, rhythm, and storytelling.
Early Creative Awakening
Kathleen’s artistic journey began early. In the fourth grade, she experienced her first formal art instruction—an experience that awakened a lifelong love of paint, color, and movement. Her first watercolor painting flowed like music across the paper, leaving her breathless and completely captivated.
Her teacher, recognizing something special, framed the painting and displayed it in the school office. What seemed like a small moment at the time later revealed itself as the beginning of Kathleen’s lifelong relationship with brushes, pigments, and creative expression.
Collections, Feminine Spirit & Creative Purpose
Kathleen Carrillo’s creative explorations have resulted in several celebrated collections, including:Resilient Voices •How Does Your Garden Grow • Bathing Beauties • Jungle Spirits • Friends and Divas. Many of her works celebrating women are inspired by Kathleen’s personal journey and her passion for the empowerment of the feminine spirit. Her series often depict women’s lives, loves, and challenges, drawing inspiration from friends, community, and shared stories. A recent collection, “Friends,” honors the encouragement and strength found in meaningful female connections.
