Kathleen (Kitty) Paino grew up on the north Oregon coast, and now lives in Astoria, Oregon. She has undergraduate and graduate degrees in art and curriculum and instruction, and has studied at Portland State University, Oregon State University and the University of Oregon. She also taught art at the secondary and post secondary levels. Most recently, she has recieved Best of Show at the annual judged Trail's End Art Association show and an Honorable Mention at the international juried Au Naturel competition.

Kitty prefers to paint from nature and inspiration can come from seeing salmon at the docks to a Chickadee on the deck. She feels like the coast is an almost overwhelming environment when it comes to visual stimulation, and where even the rocks on a drizzly day are inspiring.

Her background includes working over twenty years in the community college setting, with her last ten years as a dean of continuing education.