Lindsey Kiser earned admission to Kentucky Crafted with her innovative scratchboard creations

By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter

Lindsey Kiser is a true artist.

Her creations are so beautiful and so intricate, they take the breath away.

Everyone has seen pictures of hummingbirds, but Kiser’s view of hummingbirds present an entirely new representation of hummingbirds, with dramatic colors and up close scenes that immediately attract and hold the viewer’s attention.

It is the same with every subject she takes on.

“My journey to becoming a professional full-time artist has been long and winding,” Kiser said. “Like most artists, I have been winning awards since early childhood. After winning Kentucky’s first Junior Duck Stamp in 1995 and having my painting Pin Stripes travel the country to help support habitat conservation for ducks and geese, I was honored to meet my local hero, John Ruthven, in his art studio in Georgetown, Ohio. Although I supported myself as a muralist through law school, I neglected the muse and the call to make art until about 2017. After having solo art exhibitions across the commonwealth and illustrating two children’s books, I was ready in late 2022 to transition from the practice of law to being a full-time professional artist.”

Kiser grew up in Boone County, just down the road from Big Bone State Park, the site of many fossils. Her legal name is Lindsey Ward, but her LLC has an assumed name as Lindsey Kiser, which is her maiden name. She learned about the fossils and about Thomas Jefferson, and what prompted him to send Lewis and Clark so far to the west of the country. Kiser loved studying about Thomas Jefferson, even at a young age, and she regarded him as a hero of thought, culture and history. Most of all, she learned from his example that a person doesn’t have to follow just one path in life. Curiosity, she realized, can lead to building a beautiful, inspired life.

Kiser majored in art and double minored in biology and chemistry, and later went on to become a patent lawyer helping Fortune 1000 Companies secure patents on portfolios of innovations, mostly in the field of medicine.

Her study of Jefferson is never far from her mind, and like Jefferson, she is inspired by nature’s ‘readymades’ like fossils, birds’ nests, and acorns, and she likes to couch her nature’s treasures in things like goblets and vases. Then she paints her creation, from the photographs. She works with a limited amount of colors in her palette, and uses those shades to emphasize form, line and negative space.

Recently Kiser was added to the list of artists in the Kentucky Crafted organization, under her legal name of Lindsey Ward.

“As a member of Kentucky Crafted, I expect to be able to meet arts enthusiasts, art collectors and gallerists through participation in Kentucky’s premier indoor art fair, The Market, which is only open to artists and artisans who are juried into the Kentucky Crafted program,” Kiser explained.

The Market is a free event held inside the Alltech Arena of the Kentucky Horse Park on March 8 and 9, 2025. There is usually live music, along with opportunities to meet artists and artisans in their booths. There will also be a wholesale day for galleries and retail stores on Friday, March 7.

Kentucky Crafted is an adjudicated program that provides assistance to Kentucky visual and craft artists through marketing, promotional opportunities and arts business training.

Out-of-state art professionals are hired to determine which portfolios are qualified to be part of the Kentucky Crafted program.

Kiser is one of 28 new artists chosen to be in the program.

“I create wildlife art in scratchboard,” she said. “In 2023, I sold out my collection of hummingbirds in 22 minutes. In 2024, I developed a series called “Garden of Wonders,” which featured Kentucky’s pollinators and native plants. In 2025 and beyond, I am focusing on waterfowl and upland game birds.”

Her technique is different.

“Currently, I work in scratchboard and ink,” Kiser explained. “Scratchboard is a gorgeous, retractive medium. Each mark is made via scratching with a sharp tool, e.g., a sharpened sewing needle, to reveal white clay underneath a top layer of matte black ink. The drama of the black and white is alluring. Often, I add colorful ink and iridescent paint to the white marks, to create jewel-like effects. Sometimes, instead of starting out with a black scratchboard panel, I apply ink directly to a white clay panel with a brush and then etch details and highlights with my handcrafted scratchboard tools.”

She continued to explain how she creates her masterpieces.

“My artistic process requires intense spotlight-like observation to see and understand how light hits every fold and crease of a petal, and the shape, line, and texture of every hair, feather, or scale,” Kiser said. “At the same time, my art requires lantern consciousness to capture accurately the whole of my subject within the greater context of its environment and how my art fits within the larger context of contemporary art.”

Kiser said that making, exhibiting, and selling art brings her great joy and satisfaction. She knows that she is using her God-given talents to reflect back to her culture the questions contemplated during her direct observation of the pockets of nature that is all around her.

“I have been blessed with a life filled with meaning and purpose,” she commented. “It is my sincere hope that collectors of my art find that the pieces inspire them to seek out more truth, goodness, and beauty in their everyday lives.”

Kiser still faces some challenges with her work, but they aren’t big obstacles.

“I have given myself the challenge of scaling up my artwork to merge my previous two media into a unified body of work,” she said. “I used to paint large-scale acrylic paintings on canvas and walls as murals, because they were quicker to create a body of work for a solo art exhibition than my first love — the finely detailed scratchboard word which tends to be smaller in scale.”

Kiser continues to hone her skill and work to perfect her pieces to her own satisfaction.

“To me, success is the diligent pursuit of a worthy goal,” she mused. “I would encourage any Kentucky artist or artisan to consider applying to Kentucky Crafted next summer.”

For now, Kiser is happy creating lasting pieces.

“My greatest artistic accomplishments are the genuine connections I make with interesting people who appreciate and value my work,” Kiser stated. “Being represented by ADC Fine Art, an international art gallery and corporate art consultants headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, is an accomplishment I celebrate. In October, I was humbled and honored to have been awarded one of six Awards for Individual Artists, a grant of $5,000, by Summerfair Cincinnati, Inc. The six of us are invited to exhibit together in a small group exhibition called the Summerfair Select that will be at the Weston this fall.”

To view her work, Kiser encourages collectors to visit https://lindseykiser.com and join her email list. Her work is represented by and on display at ADC Fine Art in downtown Cincinnati and at their boutique art gallery in Ft. Thomas.