Biography

Lauri Ketchum has always been creative at heart. Although her education and subsequent career path took her down a different road, that seed of creativity took root upon her retirement from the worlds of Government and Public Education and quickly blossomed.

Ketchum says that, oddly enough, Joanna Gaines, and her hit show, Fixer Upper, was the spark that ignited her artistic journey. And that journey began with dumpster diving. She and a friend, inspired by the repurposed home decor of Fixer Upper, began gathering discarded pallets, tearing them down, and repurposing them into headboards, coffee tables, and home decor signs. When Ketchum was asked to paint a ‘picture’ on the signs, she did so and found a passion for painting. She soon traded in the old pallet wood for canvas and never looked back.

Ketchum grew up around cattle and still helps her family with a small cow and calf operation. Ketchum’s agricultural roots and life-long love affair with the American cowboy have fueled her concentration in Western Art. Ketchum loves capturing the essence of hard-working ranchers and sharing the ranching lifestyle through her art. Ketchum and her siblings showed Black Angus heifers for many years in their youth. Those days spent on her family’s cattle ranch figure prominently in both Ketchum’s memories and her paintings.

Ketchum has shown in numerous prestigious shows across the country, including Mountain Oyster Club Art Show and Sale, Tucson, AZ, Cowgirl Up, Wickenburg, AZ, C.M. Russell Friday First Strike Auction, Great Falls, MT, Cowgirl Artists of America/A.R. Mitchell Museum Women’s Work, Trinidad, CO, and Western Spirit, Cheyenne, WY.

Today, Ketchum resides with her husband, Roger, in Durant, Oklahoma. With cattle ranches on both sides of the family, inspiration is never far away.

Mountain Oyster Club Art Show and Sale, 2025
The Coates Western Art Exhibition and Sale, Granbury, TX, 2025
The Punchy Western Invitational Exhibition, Ardmore, OK, 2025
Cowgirl Artists of America Women’s Work, A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art, Trinidad, CO, 2025
Stamford Art Foundation Show and Sale, Stamford, TX, 2025
55th Juried Art Show, The Goddard Center, Ardmore, OK, 2025
Featured Artist, Art of the West Magazine, March/April 2025
C.M. Russell Friday First Strike Auction, Great Falls, MT, 2025
Cowgirl Up! Art from the Other Half of the West Invitational Exhibition and Sale, Wickenburg, AZ, 2025
Mountain Oyster Club Art Show and Sale, Tucson, AZ, 2024
Lake Granbury Art Association Juried Fall Art Exhibition, Granbury, TX, 2024
Cowgirl Artists of America Women’s Work, A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art, Trinidad, CO, 2024
Stamford Art Foundation Show and Sale, Stamford, TX, 2024
Prairie Palette: An Artistic Journey, Terra Rosa Art Gallery, Guthrie, OK, 2024
Juried in as Pro Member, Cowgirl Artists of America, 2024
Cowgirl Up! Art from the Other Half of the Wet Invitational Exhibition and Sale, Wickenburg, AZ, 2024
C.M. Russell Friday First Strike Auction, Great Falls, MT, 2024
Solo Show, The Depot Gallery, Norman, OK, 2024
Mountain Oyster Club Art Show and Sale, Tucson, AZ 2023
Cross Timbers Fine Art Council Art of the Cowgirl, Stephenville, TX, 2023
Lake Granbury Art Association Juried Fall Art Exhibition, Granbury, TX, 2023
Stamford Art Foundation Show and Sale, Stamford, TX, 2023
Cowgirl Gathering Juried Art Show and Sale, Ft. Wort, TX, 2023
Charlie’s March Roundup, C.M. Russell Museum, Great Falls, MT, 2023
Cowgirl Artists of America/Western Gallery Annual Juried Online Show, Wild Flowers, 2023
Cowgirl Gathering Juried Art Show, Ft. Worth, TX, 2022
Mountain Oyster Club Art Show and Sale, Tucson, AZ, 2022
Award of Excellence, Lake Granbury Art Association Juried Fall Art Exhibition, Granbury, TX, 2022
Women Artists of the West 52nd National Juried Exhibition, Annapolis, MD, 2022
Stamford Art Foundation Show and Sale, Stamford, TX, 2022
52nd Juried Art Exhibit, The Goddard Center, Ardmore, OK, 2022
Mountain Oyster Club Art Show and Sale, Tucson, AZ, 2021
Juried in as Associate Member, Women Artists of the West, 2021
Honorable Mention, Mountain View Americana Art Show, Easley, SC, 2021
2nd Place, 51st Juried Art Exhibit, The Goddard Center, Ardmore, OK, 2021
Featured Artist, Art of the West, Graceful Arts Center, Alva, OK, 2021
40th Annual Western Spirit Juried Art Show and Sale, Cheyenne, WY, 2021
Runner-up, Southwest Art Magazine Artistic Excellence Competition, 2020
FAV 15% BoldBrush Painting Competition, June 2020
FAV 15% BoldBrush Painting Competition, March 2020
Western National Juried Exhibit, Dallas Metro Arts Contemporary, Dallas, TX 2020
Jeanne R. And Lawrence London Award for Excellence, 50th Juried Art Exhibit, The Goddard Center, Ardmore, OK, 2020
Stamford Art Foundation Show and Sale, Stamford, TX, 2020
Featured Artist, Backroads Show, The Vault Gallery, Pauls Valley, OK, 2020
Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition annual auction, 12×12, 2021, 2020
Oklahoma City Allied Arts annual auction, Artini, 2020, 2019
Published in ‘Acrylics Works 6, The Best of Acrylic Painting, Creative Energy,’ 2019

Gallery Representation

The Vault Gallery, Pauls Valley, Oklahoma
Terra Rosa Art Gallery, Guthrie, Oklahoma
Art & Horse Racing Gallery, Newmarket, England, UK

Professional Associations

Pro and Founding Member, Cowgirl Artists of America
Associate Member, Women Artists of the West
Associate Member, American Women Artists
Member, Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition