Meet the Artist- Kat Hamilton

"I'm a Pop Surreal artist living in Brisbane, Australia with my 4 young children. I mainly work with mixed media, but I also enjoy watercolour, graphite, oils and inks. 

My work has evolved over time through self teachings as well as exploring online courses. I am  influenced by my children and my life experiences, bringing to life a lot of raw emotions on paper. 

Most of my work is based around beautiful and strong women with influences in the lowbrow/pop surreal as well as the fantasy genres.

I love storytelling through my paintings and I'm fascinated by the audience's connection to my works. 

My middle eastern background lends me a lot of inspiration for subject matter as well as stories to inspire me.

As of 2020, I have been teaching in online lessons which have given me another reason to love the art world.

It brings me great joy knowing that I am helping others to bring the beauty of art into the world through their eyes and their experiences.

In the last 3 years I have also participated in very successful US based online galleries and auctions, which has allowed me to practice my art full time and share my art with the world."

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What does Art is Magic mean to you?

To me any type of art is truly magic, it is the essence of life, whether it be music, painting, dancing or any form of expressing oneself to feel free and in the moment.

Why do you create art?

I create art to heal. It is a meditation for me that no other form of healing compares. It is my serenity from my crazy family life and it helps me be a better mother, a better wife and a better person. It also gives me an identity, especially as a mother, we as human beings tend to lose that once we have another human to care for. 

Tell us about your journey to become an artist?

Even though I have always been a creative person and enjoyed drawing and expressing myself through singing, my journey to becoming an artist truly began when I had my first child. It was then that I need to fulfill a need to have an identity, to do something for myself that made me feel normal again. As I started to share my work on social media and noticed that people connected with my work, that gave me validation to continue and push myself to new heights. I started taking online courses and expanding my knowledge on how to create in different forms. The Art world is a never ending learning world, and that is what I love most about it, there is always something new to try and push myself toward.

What is it about making art that stirs your soul?

I love watching a blank page turn into a beautiful piece of art that has meaning and evokes emotion, that in itself is the spawning of magic. I love that I lose myself in the process and hours pass in that trance, and when you look up, what seems like minutes has been many hours. 

What sort of creative walls do you hit?

I find that when I have had a stressful day, I hit a wall, and sit and procrastinate staring at my sketchbooks wondering what I do next, or which project to tackle next. Sometimes (actually a lot of the time :D) I tend to overload myself with too many commitments and this in turn blocks me from moving on or getting started. To get through, I usually have to take a few days off and do something different, like dancing or singing, and then push myself to do something simple, like sketching new ideas. These allow me to move on and get started on my commitments.