2019 E.A.S.T. ARTIST HIGHLIGHT | Catie Lewis
Catie Lewis
We're exploring the world of the dozens of local artists featured at MMAC’s 2019 EAST gallery and their mediums. The goal of this series is to shed light on real-life Central Texas artists exploring what & why they create.
Q: Introduce us to yourself and your extensive body of work!
A: My name is Catie Lewis, I’m a self-taught artist and I’ve been living in Austin just under a year now. Moving to Austin really sparked my creativity and inspired me to get back into art after years of not doing anything even remotely artistic. Being self-taught, a lot of my work at the moment tends to be the result of me picking a medium and experimenting with it on paper or canvas until I move on to the next medium. At this year’s EAST, I will have some minimalistic botanical gouache paintings, digital art portraits, single-line drawings, and colorful acrylic plant paintings. I’m essentially in the process of sharpening my skills and learning new techniques on my own before I dive deeper into my own style.
Q: When did you realize that you wanted to be an artist?
A: I think growing up, I always thought about being an artist or even an art teacher but I also had a million other professions I had imagined myself trying. It really wasn’t until I actually grew up that I saw people in real life making art their lifestyle in real-time that I realized being an artist can be practical and sustainable as a career! I’m just starting out, so I’m not doing art full time right now. But, this city has really shown me the potential you can reach in an art community such as this one and the success you can have by staying consistent and continuing to keep working at your dream. I’m sure being a full-time artist is challenging- but the value for art is everywhere. Nowadays, too, there are so many ways to make it work with the rise of social media and being able to show photos of your art to admirers all over the world so that’s pretty inspiring as an aspiring artist.
Q: We’re really excited that you’ll be exhibiting at Motion Media Arts Center with us this year! What are you excited about seeing or doing this EAST?
A: This year at EAST, I’m mostly excited to meet all the people who go on the tour and all of the talented artists who are participating in it! Since I just moved to Austin, I haven’t been to the West or East Austin studio tours prior to this one- so this whole experience will be very new and exciting for me.
Check out more of Catie’s work on her Website!
Catie Lewis
Catie Lewis
ABOUT BIG MEDIUM’S EAST AUSTIN STUDIO TOUR
Big Medium's East Austin Studio Tour (EAST) is a free, annual, self-guided art event spanning two weekends in November. EAST provides opportunities for the public to meet the artists and artisans of Austin in their creative spaces.