Kitty Harvill is actively involved with the conservation efforts in her home in southern Brazil. Such organizations include SPVS (Society for Wildlife Research and Environmental Education) where she is active in the Red-tailed parrot project, having participated in several years' census counts, donating her artwork for t-shirts, and having illustrated "Vida Livre" a 48-page children's picture book in cut-paper collage and watercolor. Written by Brazilian author Adélia Woellner, the book details the life of the endangered Red-tailed parrot and the efforts of SPVS to save this species. The book was accepted by the Brazilian Ministry of Culture and was sponsored by EcoVia. The official launch was June 4, 2012. Of the 3,000 books printed, 1,500 are being distributed free of charge to school children along the southern coast of Brazil to raise awareness about this parrot and its habitat. Visit www.spvs.org.br.

In 2012, WISDOM, the Midway Albatross was also released. Written by Darcy Pattison and illustrated by Harvill, this children's book details the life of the world's oldest wild banded bird - WISDOM, an endangered Laysan Albatross. Of the 22 species of albatrosses, 19 are endangered. WISDOM's survival of the 2011 tsunami and other natural and man-made disasters are chronicled, including the deadly practice of longline fishing and the death of thousands of albatross chicks each year due to plastic pollution in our oceans. The book won first place in the Writer's Digest Annual Self-Published Awards in the children's book category and received a starred review by Publishers Weekly.

Harvill and her husband, naturalist Christoph Hrdina are partners with several prominent biologists in the private reserve - Reserva Bicudinho-do-brejo in the state of Paraná in southern Brazil. To date, 254 bird species, 11 of which are endangered have been listed on this reserve which is 30 hectares in size or approximately 90 acres. 
Harvill  has been commissioned by the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment - ICMBio, to create the cover paintings for their National Action Plans for the Conservation of Endangered Species. She has completed 9 covers to date, the latest of which is the Spix's Macaw, considered Extinct in the Wild, with only approximately 85 birds existing in captivity. Harvill's cover painting is for the international version of the National Action Plan for the Conservation of Endangered Species, which includes a re-introduction program for this macaw.

She was named a "Madrinha" (godmother) for Mater Natura's campaign: "Parceiros da Biodiversidade", joining a small number of invited artists to celebrate and raise awareness of nature through their arts. Visit www.maternatura.org.br (Environmental Studies Institute).

Born in Clarksville, Tennessee, Kitty Harvill received her BFA cum laude in painting from SMU including a semester of study in Paris. She received an MA in art therapy from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and an AA in illustration from Ray College, Chicago. Prior to her work as a wildlife artist she held positions of art director and creative director in the advertising industry, designing and supervising the production of such projects as the Dillard Department Stores annual report. In 1990, she formed Harvill Ross Studios Ltd., a commercial art firm.

 She has illustrated Up! Up! Up! It's Apple-Picking Time, Fall 2003, for Holiday House, New York. Sitting Down To Eat, Fall 1996, for August House LittleFolk, was named an American Bookseller Pick of the Lists and featured in the Dec. 2, 1996 issue of NEWSWEEK. It was also named a notable children's trade book in the field of social studies for 1997 by a joint committee of the National Council for Social Studies and the Children's Book Council. Other books include Dancing with Little Teddy, Fall 1996, a biography of Dr. Joycelyn Elders, Jack and the Animals, Fall 1995, August House, LittleFolk, and Believe in Katie Lynn, also Fall 1995, Eggman Publishers, Nashville, TN. School division work includes Others Were Here Before, Spring 2000, McGraw Hill School Division, Adventure at Mitchell Caverns, Spring 2001, McGraw Hill School Division. She has also done textbook illustration for Houghton Mifflin.
 She has donated her illustrations for two wordless picture books for Developing Hearts of Stratford, Connecticut. Her work has appeared in Country America magazine, CATS magazine, on more than twenty book covers for August House Publishers, and she illustrated the 2002 poster for Arkansas Heritage month. Other clients include Scentations, Inc., Federation of American Health Systems, and Arkansas Lawyer magazine.

 She has donated her artwork to the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Society Guild, RAIN of AR, the Quapaw Quarter Association (a historic preservation organization), the Humane Society of Pulaski County, Centers for Youth & Families, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Alzheimer’s Arkansas, the Children's Museum of Arkansas, Youth Home, Inc., the UAMS Preemie Unit, the Arkansas Arts Center, the Oasis, the American Heart Association, Central Arkansas Library System, Second Genesis, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Arkansas Hospice, and Arkansans with Disabilities.

 She was accepted into Aqueous USA 2002, a National juried watercolor exhibit. She illustrated the cover and accompanying booklet for the audio book The Animals Could Talk, a Parent's Choice Gold Award winner in 1994, published by August House Publishers. Additionally, she received an Award of Excellence for the Southeast Library Association Southern Book Competition for The Folktale Cat, and the PIAS Award of Excellence for the cover of Southern Hospitality Cookbook, which were both published by August House Publishers.

 Now having dual residency in both the states and Brazil, Harvill divides her time between the two countries, currently specializing in wildlife art and specifically endangered species. She is currently working in pastel and oil in addition to her watercolors. For additional information please contact the artist.