Illustration

Bio

Katie graduated with a BFA in illustration from Pratt Institute and is currently living in Brooklyn. She creates children's books filled with animals, bright colors, and stories that teach a lesson. Her creative marketing and licensing ideas for her books are very eye catching and attractive to young children.

Another side of her work is based on expressive line and ink drawings with splashes of color. These reportage drawings are used commercially for annual reports, editorials, and travel magazines. Lately her focus has been on musicians and performers as subjects to create urban cultural drawings.

Artist Statement:

The process of making art for me is not about the finished work itself as much as the visceral experience of creating. My art is constantly morphing and evolving
as I learn, grow, and experience more in my life. I try to create in a less controlled or confined manner, that allows for my own personal expression to flow freely. I draw and paint at a quick pace, without hesitation, allowing for my subconscious mind, hypothetically, do the work. This method allows me to loosen up and make marks based on the connection I feel with the subject I am observing.

I believe everyone has there own unique way of seeing that can only be viewed by them. I like to think that I show the viewer my own personal way of seeing without forcing it. If there is force in revealing my own perspective, the work created looses something that can only happen in those moments of meditative quietness between the artist and subject. I am not tied down to any particular medium but do tend to work with ink, pencil, and oil pastels. I also use the method of collage with found materials and textured layers of paint. My work can often is painterly and loosely descriptive. The medium, for me, is usually dependent on the work I am creating and the feeling I am expressing.

I have always been enamored with the human face and how the face expresses so many emotions, sometimes in hidden ways. My interest in psychology and current studies in the field add unique insights into my works. My art is about exploring what it is I am seeing and making marks that are spontaneous and indicative to my instinctive perceptions. Like life, I feel that the act of creating, in general, is based on moment to moment experience, that it is always changing, and is full of happy accidents and surprises.

My Trip to Europe

I'm still uploading pictures but soon I'll be showing all of my photos and drawings from the amazing trip I took around parts of both Eastern and Western Europe. So stay tuned...

Haitian Dance Aid Children Drawings

I went to this amazing Haitian Pride Performance with my friend Jodi and her husband Kota. It was amazing! These people can really move. All of the dances represented different stories and symbols in their history. For instance, the Yanvalou, the first dance had a rhythm that used the undulating bodies of the dancers to represent the word beneath the waves of the sea. Haiti is an island located in the Caribbean Sea. So coastliving Haitians make a living off fishing from the sea. Also the location puts its people in the direct path of many hurricantes, which can cause torrential rains and floods.

The dances and costumes were beautiful and very colorful and so much fun to draw. The two hour performance felt like it was only ten as there was so much to see and try to put down on paper. I hope we can see them again soon if they are ever back in New York. Also, they do fund raisers to build Childcare Center and Hospitals for Orphans in Haiti. So it's a great thing to come out and watch for that reason too.

welcome

this is katie hall's blog page... welcome to it...