Today we’d like to introduce you to Kat Francis.
Hi Kat, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I knew I wanted to be an artist since I was very young. I always enjoyed drawing and wanted to be a cartoonist originally. The art room in school was my sanctuary. In school, I was picked on and pretty unhappy because I dressed different and enjoyed, at the time, unpopular things like punk music, coloring my hair, and skateboarding. To help me get through school despite those struggles, my high school art teacher arranged for me to participate in an internship for what she thought was cartooning- it ends up being with a famous Special EFX makeup artist Robert Kurtzman. I stayed with his company for many years workin on dozens of major motion pictures such as the devils rejects, hostel 2, Captain America Winter Soldier, the Avengers, fun-size, and so on.
I loved working in film, but I also had a son who I didn’t want to be away from for long periods of time. I returned to college to finish my BFA and MFA to focus on my own art professionally. I exhibited my first artwork when I was 18, and I have been selling art for a living for almost 20 years now. I still work in special effects part-time, but I also mentor art students, paint murals and exhibit art all over the country.
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?
I feel for fortunate to be where I am today. I believe that being a single mom has made me the artist I am today. I couldn’t take making art for a living lightly… I made sure I was always receiving high grades in college and spending every moment I had on trying to get better- because I knew my kids were depending on me. I have also been very lucky to have incredible mentors in the film industry and in fine art. My mentor, painter Gordon Lee, told me to never waste this time. To always use it. I hear him always when I’m drawing, preparing for a show, and even reflecting on life. As an artist, you have to work hard and often. I practice never wasting a moment whether sketching, researching ideas, looking for inspiration, or organizing my space, etc. My struggles have more often been from loneliness or feeling isolating from my peers because I spend my free time making art and trying to further my career. So far, I have found ways to make money and live off my art professionally for almost two decades, as long as I put in the time and work at it every single day.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a mixed-media artist. Mommy’s work normally focuses on place. I study neighborhoods and get excited by people I meet; I like to create work that showcases/journals an area. To portray was makes it special, historical, and unique. My work is illustrative and pulls aesthetic inspiration from graffiti, vintage wallpaper, and underground comix.
I also do murals. I love working large and moving my body to create large paintings that communicate and inhabit neighborhoods
My work is unique that, although historical and focusing on an anthropological study of people and place, it appears contemporary, psychedelic, and colorful. I also work on wood to then cut and collage the pieces together creating a sculptural painting/drawing…
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Katfrancisart
- Facebook: Kat Francis
