Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Meuser.
Hi Katie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I am originally from Nebraska and recently living in Chicago. I graduated with a BFA In Fine Arts and Humanity from The University of Nebraska at Kearney. It was there, I came up with my own style of painting by mixing water with acrylic and experimenting with different ratios of water to paint. My work mostly consists of non-objective abstracts focusing on color blocking along with my organic, free-flowing technique. I love using both bright and lurid color combinations, I love the juxtaposition that these color combinations have as well as the off-balance of organic vs. geometric or “forced” lines. I found a very receptive home in Chicago in 2015 and since then have become a fairly established artist in the Logan Square area! The internet has opened up a lot of opportunities for me and my art. hashtags really work! I was contacted by a company in Las Angeles called Keven Barry Art Advisory. They were working with a company in Chicago and wanted a Chicago artist to do an interior mural. From there, I would tag LA, Orange County, San Diego on my work and began to get clients in California!
Through this experience, I realized that people outside of Chicago were interested in my work. Shipping large paintings is very expensive and I found it to be less expensive to travel to my clients and stay in a nearby Air BnB. This gave me a unique opportunity to meet people and have a more personal connection that I could base my paintings on that would reflect both my style and the clients! Lately, San Diego has been like a second home for me. I have a handful of clients that have warmly welcomed me to San Diego and I almost know all the neighborhoods now!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Being from Western Nebraska and attending a university there, I was deterred from abstract painting. There wasn’t really an outlet for me to practice the type of art I wanted to do and had to conform to the styles and Ideals of the college.
I do believe that struggles and challenges help you grow as an artist and enables you to create something consequential. I took my struggle and turned it into my now signature style of controlling large amounts of water with acrylic and ink. My style is the classic struggle between following the rules and breaking free from control. I have learned in order to control these mediums, I have to let go.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in Large-scale abstract art. I am known for my style which is very fluid and organic with vibrant colors. I paint predominantly with water and acrylic and experiment with different ratios of the two mediums. I love playing with color and am always striving to come up with new and exciting color themes. Color is so important, it can provoke an emotional response to the viewer forming a strong connection to a piece without having a recognizable image. Lately, I have been including charcoal and geometric lines and shapes in my work. I think it is important to try new things and just keep the ideas flowing! I think my work ethic sets me apart from others. I am a bit of a work acholic, but it forces me to evolve. I HAVE to work out any ideas that come to me and see where it takes me, or else it eats away at me!
What makes you happy?
Connecting with people that say they don’t get abstract art makes me very happy! I think seeing them step away from something that they understand or are comfortable with and start to see abstract as an experience or feeling is such a great feeling! Abstract artists are all well versed in people describing their style as “accidental” or “easy”. Trying to create a focal point or flow throughout a piece that resonates with people is not accidental nor is it easy. You are taking what’s inside your mind and conveying it on canvas and can connect to people in such a strong way. People can look at your painting and see it for what it is and look at your lines, compositions, colors, textures, and appreciate the journey and the artist’s vulnerability that is laid out on the canvas by making it relate to themselves.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@katiemeuser.com
- Website: www.katiemeuser.com
- Instagram: klmeuser
