Deborah Slone is a watercolor artist and educator based in Lexington, Kentucky. Rooted in her Appalachian upbringing in southeastern Kentucky, her work is shaped by a lifelong appreciation of the natural world. She holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees in Studio Art from Morehead State University, along with a second bachelor’s degree in Art Education from the University of Kentucky.
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For over a decade, Deborah has shared her passion for art through community classes and private lessons for students of all ages. Her paintings draw on her family’s rich storytelling traditions, using nature as a metaphor for meaning, memory, and belonging.

Working from her own photographs, Deborah creates botanical watercolor compositions that feature plants, insects, and natural objects. Through a meticulous glazing technique, she captures their fragile beauty while exploring themes of environmental stewardship and intimate connection to place and time.

In 2024, Deborah illustrated her first book, Mr. Tux and the Little Garden Hotel, written by Rebecca Suter Lindsey, and published by Shadelandhouse Modern Press. This year during Women’s History Month, her portrait of the 24th U.S. Poet Laureate, Ada Limón, was acquired for permanent display in the Kentucky Women Remembered exhibit in the rotunda of the Kentucky State Capitol.

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