About Us

Wooden boats have always been a part of Kathy’s life; sailing, living aboard and working on many of them from early childhood to the present. She began her career illustrating in 1978 with WoodenBoat magazine drawing many “how to” illustrations for articles on boatbuilding.

She worked at Mystic Seaport’s shipyard from 1981 to 1985 during a restoration of the whaleship, Charles W. Morgan, where she documented the work with detailed perspective construction drawings. After Mystic, she attended Rhode Island School of Design and then embarked on a career.

Her illustrations can be seen in the books: A Life In Boats: The Concordia Years by Waldo Howland; Friendship Sloops and Coastal Maine by Roger Duncan; The Charles W. Morgan by John F. Leavitt; Pete Culler’s Boats by John Burke; Joel White by Benjamin Mendlowitz, Bill Mayher and Maynard Bray; Timber Frame by Tedd Benson; The Woodworker’s Guide to Hand Tools by Peter Korn; Four Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman; and numerous magazines including WoodenBoat, Cruising World, Sail, Small Boat Journal, Threads, Horticulture, American Woodworker, Old House Journal, and Country Journal.

In 2005, her parents, Anne & Maynard, approached her about creating more color profiles of boats which resulted in Bray Prints, a family run business with Kathy creating the originals, Anne running the business end of things, and Maynard serving as technical advisor.

Both Anne and Maynard have a long history with wooden boats. Anne is the Research Director for WoodenBoat magazine and compiled the Register of Wooden Boats and the Index to WoodenBoat. She and Maynard have worked on numerous books together sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm for wooden boats. Maynard is technical editor for WoodenBoat as well as author of many books on wooden boats including Herreshoff of Bristol, Mystic Seaport Watercraft, Joel White, and Worthy of the Sea: K. Aage Nielsen and His Legacy of Yacht Designs. He also writes the captions for the Calendar of Wooden Boats and works as a consultant on many wooden boat restoration projects.

“I’m thrilled with the print, thank you! We have three of your other prints and just love them.”

~ Muffi G., Montpelier, VA

“Your work is so lovely in its simplicity and accuracy. I will treasure this print always.”

~ Sandra L., Bangor, Maine

“The Chicago Yacht Club Luders 16 Fleet awarded Bray Prints as trophies for the 2008 Season Championship and, as the second place finisher, I was thrilled to receive one. The quality of the illustration is remarkable, accurately depicting the elegance of the design in vivid detail.”

~ Richard W., Chicago, IL