Hi, I’m Katie
I’m a watercolor artist living on the North Shore of Lake Superior in Two Harbors, MN. I have been moved by the immaculate landscapes of Northern Minnesota since I was a child. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area is my happy place so you’ll see many pristine lakes, shorelines, and pines in my paintings. Nature is my muse. I am moved by moments of synchronicity between my life and the natural world. I see myself reflected in nature and she in me, and I like to paint the way a moment in nature has made me feel.
I deeply believe that the desire to create is the sign that art wants to live through us, that creation is an innate part of human nature and what I create has a spirit all its own. I let each painting tell me how it wants to be made manifest – from the size of the paper I use, to the palette, to the way my brush moves on the paper. I find that the more I engage in the creative process as an intuitive one, the more I see that the entire process exists for me, and when I embrace the journey over the end result, I find the most joy in the act of creating.
“I deeply believe that the desire to create is the sign that art wants to live through us, that creation is an innate part of human nature and what I create has a spirit all its own.”
I am self-taught – the exception being a beginner watercolor class I took at community college in 2012. I utilize both wet on wet and dry brushing techniques, utilizing the tooth of cold-press paper to create texture. I work from reference photos I take on my little CampSnap camera, but I mostly like to create from memory. If I use a reference photo, I only allow myself to rely on it for a few minutes in the beginning. I find this allows my imagination to fill in the blanks and helps me focus on feeling over detail.
I also cut my own mat board and frame all of my own work. So from the inception of the art, to the painting, to hand-installing the backing hardware on a frame, it's all done by my hands. I find a therapeutic juxtaposition between the surrendered flow of watercolor and the precision of framing a painting.
My first creative endeavors were writing and sketching. Language is a great passion of mine. Actually, my blog is an excellent place to learn more about my process and what inspires me. You can check that out here!
In addition to art, I am also a practicing Classical Homeopath. This healing art has healed me in some truly deep and incredible ways and I love bearing witness to the way it has can help others. You can learn more about my homeopathic practice here.
Thank you for taking an interest in my work, it’s an honor to share it with the world and I’m quite grateful you’re here :)
