Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Reid.
Hi Katie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started around 5th grade when a friend brought in their sister’s sketchbook. Said sketchbook was filled with beautiful portraits so I went home and searched on youtube and began to teach myself how to draw. I started searching for simple tutorials at first, like how to draw wolves and dogs. I even got one of my wolves in my middle school’s magazines. When my English teacher at the time saw it, and one of my personal sketchbooks, she encouraged me to apply for SCAD and go to art school to get better.
From that point on, I worked on my portfolio for SCAD all throughout high school, I even had seniors telling me that I was getting it done far too early. I didn’t listen to them though and kept adding more work to my portfolio that ended up getting me some scholarships and into SCAD. From my studies at SCAD, I have learned to make my personal work better and more vibrant. I even opened my own shop and am proud enough to post my works on social media. I’ve had a few commissions as I’ve gotten better but I still really love experimenting with new mediums and techniques to further my works and sell them in my own shop.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t always been smooth, I’ve had people discourage me along the way. I’d of course get compliments on my work but I’d always get backlash when I’d tell people I wanted to do this professionally, as my job. I’d get questions like “well is there a market for that kind of thing?” and sort of backhanded compliments like “Wow, your work is really good for a hobby but what do you really want to do?” I’d always feel like I was getting interrogated when people didn’t think it was smart for me to follow my artistic dreams. I eventually ended up altering my answer. When people asked me what I wanted to do I used to say, “get my art in galleries, museums, and have art shows, etc.” to “oh you know, design book covers I guess, maybe movie posters” which I really want to try but it’s truly not what I want to do. The reason I changed it is because I’d always get laughed at by fellow students or even strangers when they asked what else I wanted to do. I suppose being “that” kind of artist is looked down on by people because they think it’s so unachievable. But hey, Andy Warhol, Hellen Frankenthaler, Yayoi Kusama, and Damien Hirst all used to be art students before they got their works in galleries and museums, and history remembers them.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I think what I’m most known for are my portraits. I’m currently in the process of uploading all my sketchbooks to my website, (I have so many it’s going to take a while,) and while scanning them in I’ve noticed some of my best work are from portraits of people I’ve drawn from real life or images. I learned pretty early on to use pen and ink instead of pencils, not that I have anything against graphite some of my best works are in graphite but pens force you to live with your mistakes after you’ve made them. Through that process, I really learned that making good lines is far more important than making several lines and hoping one of them makes the mark you want. Quantity over quality. Although, my commissioners rarely want pen drawings of portraits (and I have yet to put some of my best on my website, though I am working on it) I do think they’re some of my best works. Portraits in general as well, the human face fascinates me because of how different everyone could look and therefore giving me a bit of wiggle room in my work to make something really out of the box.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I define success as being stable enough to create my art and not having to work another job. Currently, I work as a server to make it through college. However, when I’ve graduated I have plans to purchase a house with a studio in New York, (covid laws abiding) and really put my degrees to work and create some amazing pieces that will make it into local galleries and shows. I can only go up from here, that’s how I see it.
Pricing:
- $40 for any print I currently have on my shop $100 + $35 is the minimum price for originals on my shop (The website I use adds that $35 for their courier delivery service so your work gets there safe and sound. They also take %25 as a gallery fee.)
- $150 minimum + shipping for my large commissions (16 inches or larger on largest side)
- $100 Minimum + shipping for my medium commissions (11-16 inches on largest side)
- $80 Minimum + Shipping for my small commissions (4 – 10 inches on largest side)
- I am always willing to work with any budget and if you buy and original or a commission (not print) from me you are always welcome to get it tattooed.
Contact Info:
- Email: katiereidarts@gmail.com
- Website: https://katiereidarts.myportfolio.com/portfolio
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katiereidarts/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/KatieReidArts
- Other: https://www.behance.net/katiereid3
Image Credits
Katie Reid
