By Lee Ann Leonard
Katie Hughes prefers a world that isn’t so black and white. The local artist escapes societal constraints—and even her darker thoughts—when her brush, dipped in vibrant colors, hits the canvas.
“My work, over the years, has been inspired by my difficulty to sort my own feelings out…difficulty to have a true awareness of what I’m feeling other than the insight that I’m crawling out of my skin,” Hughes confesses. “So, distracting myself with beautiful colors and a challenge has been very helpful.” Hughes encourages others to broaden their palette and to embrace art for its mental health benefits. “When you’re being creative, it feels like you’re able to access a gentler form of thinking,” she elaborates. “It’s more about being curious than it is about being perfect. Maybe art is just a reminder that we’re happier when we stay curious.”
Helping others stay curious plus connecting with fellow creatives drove her recent move from Enterprise, Alabama, to Panama City Beach, Florida. “I moved here for the art community,” Hughes explains. “Where I lived, I was the only artist I knew other than my mother and a couple of others.” She admits that the area’s talent level is intimidating. “Because there are a lot of artists that I’m very inspired by and admire, you can feel small against such large, admirable creatures. It’s helped me feel challenged and helps me want to push through and improve.”
The self-taught artist says her main medium is acrylic. She sometimes textures the paint with flexible modeling paste or heavy body molding paste so she can manipulate it with palette knives. Her favorite subjects are feminine faces, beautiful blooms and whimsical wildlife, which she frequently drenches in colors, textures and patterns. Like their maker, her works are often layered, revealing new facets with each glance.
One tool she has mixed feelings about is Artificial Intelligence. “AI art feels a bit like being served already chewed-up food,” Hughes shares. “It just sort of took the fun out of it. I’ve used it in different ways and found it to be enjoyable and useful. But I don’t look at it in a competitive nature anymore. There’s a nostalgia that AI will never really offer.”
Because art is the beach resident’s sole income source, she balances creating projects for others with completing pieces for herself. She cautions that maintaining that balance is critical. “As soon as your entire portfolio is for someone else’s consumption rather than for yourself, the joy will slip away like a mushy soap bar in the shower.” She adds that the pressure to meet a client’s expectations can be motivating and inspiring or crippling. “It just changes when someone else’s expectations become a collar around your neck, and then you’re basically in what will feel like a 9-to-5. It takes something you love and cages it.”
To discover this colorful, uncaged creator’s work and explore learning opportunities, visit her Eye Catchers Artworks pages on Facebook and Instagram. You’ll see proof that this Hughes likes her hues varied and bright.
RSS
