Meet Kathryn Bailey

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathryn Bailey. 

Hi Kathryn, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve always loved art; for as long as I can remember, creating has been a part of me. From the moment I figured out how to pick up a pencil, art has been my passion. 

It wasn’t until after high school, however, that I got serious about it. My only other true passion in life is horses. I was on the Oxford Equestrian Team in middle and high school, so I wasn’t quite sure which path I would pursue: horses or art. To be honest, I didn’t think I could make it as an artist. I just didn’t believe I was good enough, so I was leaning more towards horses when I started college. 

My realization of how important art was to me was in the middle of an Art History class in 2013. It was my very first semester in college. My very first art class ever – the one that started it all – the professor wanted everyone to try and experience what it may have been like back in the day to capture a still life, so we were all sitting around a table filled with various objects drawing and trying to capture our take on these objects. We all got done and everyone sitting at the table started laughing about their drawings, and my neighbor looked over and said “Wow! Katie, that’s incredible!”, which prompted everyone else – to my intense embarrassment – to look over and inspect my drawing. But it was in that moment that I realized that maybe my dream to be an artist wasn’t so silly after all. 

I still didn’t know what medium I wanted to focus on. I was pretty sure realism and charcoal drawings were going to be my thing, though. Looking back, it’s funny how wrong I was. The only thing I thought I knew for sure was that I hated Oil Paint…until I took my very first painting class at Michigan State University, that is. I finally understood it. I finally stopped fighting against it and started to enjoy being able to “play” around in it and create various textures, and well, now I don’t like it if I have to work in any other medium! 

As for what I’m up to today: I graduated from MSU with my BFA in December of 2018 and immediately started pursuing galleries. I had finally started to gain some traction – I was in two group shows in a gallery in Manhattan, NYC in 2019, and then Covid hit and I got pregnant and my art life came to a screeching halt. I think I’m finally starting to get my head back up above the water, though – my son is a year and a half and actually sleeping pretty consistently, finally – I’m beginning to find myself and my passion for creating again, but with a little built-in best friend this time around, and I’m really excited to see what the future holds! 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As for my life in the art world, there hasn’t been any real struggles above and beyond that of any other artist. However, struggles in my life in general have been pretty intense. 

I was born with a quadrilateral limb deficiency, which is just a fancy way of saying that I was born without any hands, and with only four toes on each foot. The doctors thought I would have all sorts of health issues because when your limbs are forming in utero, so are your other major organs, and so they thought if my limbs had big issues, so would everything else. But that wasn’t the case for me, thankfully. No internal issues at all! They also thought I wouldn’t be able to walk because I’m missing the big toe and all of the supporting bones that go to them on each foot, which, if you don’t know, are responsible for pretty much all of your balance while walking, running, etc. but I don’t have any issues there either! In fact, back in 2014 my mom and I ran the Disney Marathon! 

Anyways, the issues from being born differently have been pretty much what you would expect: the bullying and ignorance from some people have been bad off and on throughout my life, but I try to choose every day to use those feelings to fuel my art and try to turn pain into beauty, instead of letting it crush me and retreat back into my shell. I don’t always succeed. In fact, it used to bother me a lot less as a child and teenager. For whatever reason, I haven’t been able to cope with it as well since I’ve gotten farther into my twenties. But again, I do my best every day to not let depression have a hold of my life. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in large canvas Abstract Impressionistic Impasto oil paintings. I love to capture the emotion of a thing more than just an image of a thing. I don’t do full abstraction. The realist in me will never quite go away, but texture, movement, and emotion have been the thing that has captured my heart the most intensely since I started painting in 2015. 

I’m not sure that I have a really great answer for this one, as I’m not a very well-known artist at this point at all. But I have noticed that people on social media have told me time and again that they knew it was my work before they even saw my username because of the thick painted sections, dripping layers, and just the general way I paint an image. So, I suppose you could say the most recognizable thing about my work is my style. I pretty much only use Palette Knives to paint my pieces with the exception of using a wide brush and various kinds of absorbent paper to create a dripping layered background. I suppose you could say the other thing I’m most known for is being an artist with no hands. 

In my art life, I am most proud of achieving my BFA from Michigan State, of winning a student art competition and having MSU buy the piece that won to keep in their permanent collection of art on campus, of being in two group shows in Manhattan, New York City in 2019, and having my artwork in three issues of British Vogue magazine in 2021! 

Outside of my art, I’m most proud of becoming a mom. It wasn’t something I ever planned on doing. My husband wanted a baby, but I have been terrified of that idea since I was a teenager. I was so scared of the challenges and many other things I won’t get into here, but I guess God had other plans because Niley (my son) was a massive surprise and is the greatest blessing and gift that I have ever been given. 

How do you define success?
I would define success as not giving up. I personally don’t believe you need money or fame to be successful. Yeah, of course, those things are really great to have. It’s always nice to have your hard work recognized and rewarded. But that’s not what is going to make you feel full, loved, and successful. Having family, friends, and a passion you will never give up on is what will make you feel fulfilled. 

If you base everything on success in the traditional sense of the word, you will get discouraged and depressed with every rejection, because believe me, there will be more rejections than acceptances. That’s just how the world works. However, if you base your success on your own love of what you’re doing and you just keep at it day after day, you can’t fail; and I’d bet you you’ll find that traditional success will eventually follow after that. The most important thing you can do is not give up. You have to first believe in yourself before others will believe in you as well. 

Pricing:

• Oil Paintings are $2 per square inch
• Acrylic Paintings are $1.50 per square inch
• Drawings and Watercolor Paintings are $1 per square inch

Contact Info:

• Website: createdbykathryn.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/createdbykathryn.art/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/createdbykathrynbailey
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM57xSNWotr8idFeZDRuswA