Local artist draws the world around her

MOSES LAKE — Karen Reffett’s Columbia Basin roots run deep.

She and her husband farm and raise horses in Moses Lake. Reffett grew up in Ephrata. Her grandparents homesteaded near Stratford.

And her artwork reflects the life she lives whether it is a pair of spurs or a man riding with a cow dog close behind.

“My subject matter is not always easy to find,” Reffett said. “It’s not uncommon to sort through hundreds of photographs to find that one perfect picture I feel would make the best model for drawing.”

Once a pencil drawing is completed, Reffett has prints made by a printer in Pendleton, Ore. and then sells the limited edition prints.

Reffett also donates her prints to charity causes including the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund, a fund established to help members of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association, and their families, when they are seriously injured in rodeo events, and the recent Miss Rodeo Washington fund-raising auction.

Reffett also works in bronze. She sculpts a figure out of paraffin wax which acts as a template for the bronze molds that turn out a man working with a dog and a rider on horseback.

Between pencil drawing and sculpting, Reffett said the sculpting is easier and more relaxing.

Reffett has not had as much time as she would like to draw of late and that it is sometimes up in the air whether a project will get completed.

“It is something that takes much concentration and devotion to finish a product I am not always satisfied with. I have always been a perfectionist,” Reffett said.

Reffett comes from an artistic background and was always drawing as a child.

“My mother could paint and my dad was always doing crafts,” Reffett said.

But art isn’t the only thing on Reffett’s plate. She and her daughter breed barrel racing horses and she watches her grandchildren whenever the need arises.

Reffett’s interest in the western lifestyle that crops up in her artwork is a lifestyle she has enjoyed since she was a child.

“As a youngster I never passed up a chance to ride horses,” Reffett said. “That never changed and I competed in both amateur and pro rodeos throughout the northwest when my family was young.”

Reffett remains an avid rider, often taking high country trail rides with family and friends.

“I always feel blessed to live in a country that allows me that kind of freedom,” Reffett said.