KKATIESART

ABOUT ME

I am an illustrator and painter and love to create portraits of people. I started out drawing with graphite and colored pencil, and later experimented with painting. I have always been drawn to perfecting realism but over time, I realized that I wanted to do more with my art and be able to interpret the world in my own, unique way.

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I am very drawn to pop culture and often create artwork of celebrities or characters that I admire. Although most of this work is done realistically, I add a unique background that connects to the figure’s personality. I choose specific references for a celebrity or character that I feel best reflects their persona. I have made artwork of celebrities I love for as long as I can remember. For example, I have been a huge fan of Taylor Swift growing up and use my artwork as a way to create the same kind of connection with the viewer that I have with her music. When people recognize the face of someone in artwork, they become instantly connected with it. The intention of this aspect of my work is for people to feel a similar bond and connection to the same pop culture figures as I do.

Recently, I painted a series of portraits of my friends in the colors I associate with them. My goal was to capture not only their outward appearances, but the beauty of their personalities. Through this series, I wanted my loved ones to see themselves in a new, vibrant, and “colorful” way.

I also love creating my own characters and making surrealistic pieces. In the future, I hope my work will be used for film and television concept art and character design.

Some of my biggest inspirations are Holly Warburton and Sam McKinniss. These painters’ dramatic uses of color inspired me to try similar color schemes and techniques in my own work. Holly Warburton is a digital illustrator who reinvents pictures from ordinary life by using vibrant color palettes. In her pieces, she uses extreme color to convey the range and intensity of people’s emotions. Sam McKinniss is a painter who also uses vivid colors in his work but with more of a variation of strokes. I was most influenced by his painting, “Melodrama,” which was commissioned for Lorde’s recent album cover. McKinniss’ striking usage of color in his portrait of Lorde sparked my interest to explore color and try new painting techniques. This inspired me to start my collection of portraits of my friends using different ranges of color.