My name is Kasia Polkowska. I live in a Pagosa Springs, a small mountain town nestled in the San Juan Mountains of Southern Colorado. I am a professional artist and live with my life and creative partner Kyle and our two young sons, Ethan and Wesley.
Everyday I am inspired by panoramic mountain views and the surrounding nature. Each season is breathtaking here. Every day is magical and each night offers a beautifully dark sky sprinkled with more stars than you can see in most places. Spring into Summer is abundant in wild flowers and vivid colors that transition to a golden Autumn that culminates in a Winter wonderland that nourishes the landscape for a long awaited, colorful Spring. The cycle of the 4 seasons here provides more inspiration than I can dream of ever using.
Through out the years, the primary theme in my 2d artwork has been the Great American Landscape, whether I worked in glass mosaics which I did for many years or more recently when I transitioned back into painting which I studied at Pratt Institute in New York City (BFA ’06).
I’ve been a Colorado local since 2012. Luckily I’ve gotten to explore and hike all over the state, gathering inspiration for my work everywhere I go. Each new place I visit seems more beautiful than the last.
Initially, I lived in the foothills of Boulder for a few years, then in a converted cargo van, followed by a short stint in an arts district in Denver, then I switched it up by spending a few years in rural high desert town of Alamosa. While living in the San Luis Valley, along with my partner Kyle , we purchased 40 acres of land in near the Great Sand Dunes National Park which we’ve been slowly tranforming into our Mystic Valley Sculpture Park. Besides my landscape art, I also create outdoor mosaic sculptures that are set against the magnificent Sangre de Cristo Mountains, further expressing my love for the Rocky Mountain Landscape. Finally in 2020 relocated 2 hours away to the Southwest part of the state where I day dreamed of living since my first trip to Silverton. Despite the move, the Sculpture Park is an ongoing work-in-progress with over 50 art installations – we add new work each year.
I’ve been to each of the 48 states in the continental US, so throughout the years, I’ve taken inspiration from beyond the Rocky Mountains. I love to revisit many of unique regions of the country through my work. I take a lot of photos on my travels and often look back on them to create my colorful landscapes though my aim is not to recreate my photos. Often I combine various vantage points from different photos and from memory. More-so, I strive to show the impression that I’ve taken from a particular place. I love to create patterns, to play with colors and to add fun line work to pull in my viewer, to guide them along the canvas.
With my work, I hope to remind people of how beautiful our Earth is, to bring some of the Great Outdoors inside. I know that a lot of us carry these incredible memories from time spent in incredible scenery. I think it helps to have visual reminders that can be uplifting and inspirational to keep exploring, to keep
I am happy that most of my work is in private collections with with wonderful people. I have shipped my art cross country, coast to coast, south to north, even across the border to Canada and across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe and even further to Australia. I do ship work internationally upon request so don’t hesitate to inquire via email kpolkowska@gmail.com Larger work is crated for safe travel.
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