Katy Grant Hanson is a 5th generation Oregonian. While growing up in Portland Oregon, she learned appreciation  for Lewis and Clark, Sacagawea and their exploration of and importance to this region. She  attended Lewis and Clark College in Portland for one year (1956-1957). At 38 years of age,  Katy began painting and learned from some outstanding workshop leaders including Sergei Bongart, Nelson Sandgren and Charles Reid. Attending Oregon State University from 1982 until 1986, numerous hours of painting and study resulted in a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Visual Arts. Actively painting throughout the Northwest since, she owned and operated "Cannon Beach Paint Abouts" from 1994 until 2001; furnishing the equipment, supplies and instruction and taking people out on location to paint. It is her oil paintings, her preferred medium, that have won awards and are in collections in many parts of the United States and Europe. After seeing this, her Lewis and Clark book, one patron wrote, "Your painting style is perfect for the subject matter.  Bold, wild, physical, and a real feeling of discovery and adventure, much like what Lewis & Clark must have seen with their eyes".

Multnomah Falls, November 3, 2005. The painting is on page 35 in the book.