Growing up in central Montana and visiting her grandparents' ranch left an indelible imprint on Kathryn Leitner's creativity. From childhood she was interested in art, starting with graphite and moving into colored pencils and oils. She credits the encouragement and support of her family and her high school art teacher with keeping her artistic interest alive.

From Montana, Leitner moved to California where she attended four years of high school. When her grandfather died, her grandmother sold the Montana ranch and moved to Oklahoma. That drew Leitner to Oklahoma as well. She's lived in this s...