Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Hartley.
Hi Katie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
When I was growing up, I took a lot of local art classes. I was drawing all the time – on whatever I could find. When I was 16, I visited the Centre Pompidou museum in Paris, where I saw my first painting by Wassily Kandinsky. It was massive and mesmerizing, and I think then and there I knew I wanted to be a professional artist.
I also love academics, especially science and anatomy. I studied nursing in college, which is about the same time that I started to paint abstractly. I started an independent study of trees senior year – but all the paintings turned into blobs of color.
In 2017, I moved to Philadelphia to earn a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Just like seeing Kandinsky’s painting, it was a pivotal experience for me as an artist. For the first time, I felt the magic of an art community and felt safe to move outside my comfort zone.
As for many of us, Covid was a curveball. In 2020, I was working as a nurse while starting a Master of Fine Arts program at American University. That feeling of an artistic community (or any community) disappeared. My artwork felt aimless for a long time. It wasn’t until 2023 that I felt like I found some direction again.
I currently work full-time as a nurse reviewer in Washington, DC. I teach an oil painting class once a week at VisArts in Rockville, MD, which has helped bring me back to an art community and fulfilled my long-time desire to teach. I keep making art when I can – a journey I never plan on stopping.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I think my biggest barriers have been mental. I tend to believe people when they say I can’t or won’t do something. And fear of failing has kept me from trying so many things. I wouldn’t say those barriers are gone, but I think I’m learning how to work with them instead of against them. Instead of focusing on what I can’t do, I’m trying to focus on what I can do.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I most enjoy abstract drawing and painting. I’ve jumped around with materials – from thick, palette knife oil painting, to delicate, minimalist watercolors, to bold, acrylic drawings. That work feels most authentic to me.
When I was earning my MFA during Covid, my artwork and thesis project were very different. While at work one day, I had taken a picture of my face in my PPE. Later, in the studio, it struck me as a unique kind of self-portrait. I asked my fellow nurses if they had similar selfies, and dozens of emotional photos came pouring in. I launched a call for healthcare worker ‘selfies’ on social media and received over 400 pictures from around the world. In each picture, faces covered in PPE stared into the camera, with often the only facial expression seen through the worker’s eyes. The photo collection was called “In Our Eyes,” and in the midst of isolation, art brought a community back together.
Since my MFA, I’ve been slowly returning to abstract work. My process has varied based on where I’m living and what I can afford. In the fall of 2023, a major life change helped me discover a bolder, more colorful palette and technique. Within the past few months, I’ve upscaled from small sketchbooks to large canvases, playing with big paintbrushes and oil sticks. I’m interested in the relationships between colors and shapes, and what happens when they overlap, mix, and sit side-by-side. I enjoy playing with the textures of paint, pastels, pen, and markers on different surfaces. It’s ultimately about what feels good to make and what makes me smile.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
At the start of last year, I took some time to sit down and write out what I really wanted as an artist. I tried to be brutally honest. Do I want the solo show in New York? Do I want the solo show because everyone says I should? Is pushing myself to get the solo show taking the joy out of it? I tried to separate what I wanted from what I thought I should want.
A quote I think about a lot is “You can do anything, but you can’t do everything.” Sitting down to make that list helped me to see what really mattered. I wish I’d done it sooner.
Be honest with yourself about what you really want. Then put all your energy into it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.katiehartleyart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/khart_art/
