Katie was raised in Alaska by her printmaker single mother who encouraged medium experimentation and artistic expression. She is self taught and greatly influenced by the surrealism movement and anything that is colorful, weird or funny. Some modern artists that she’s jealous of are: Sarah Rupp, Casey Weldon, David Shrigley, Peter Schmidt and Rewinda Omar to name just a few. Generally Katie works with acrylics on canvas, focusing on the human form and portraits.
Artist Statement:
This series is born during dark times as a way of escaping to a delightful, bright, fun house mirror reality. I painted my loved ones as the world burned and my father was dying of cancer. I painted these portraits as my father changed from someone strong and independent to someone I barely recognized. As a way of laughing at the dark and holding onto my past I painted my best friends on the best day of my life. Thank you to my favorite people who lent their faces to be distorted and recreated, changed but still beautiful.
