Meet Katie Meuser | Fine Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Katie Meuser and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Katie, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Taking risks as an artist can be morally complicated. As a career artist, I struggle with the fine line between art for art’s sake and making art to sale. I invest a lot of money up front when I am working on a series and hope at the end I at least break even, but it’s a gamble. Usually when I make a series of work I try not think about what others might like and try to work out an idea I have. It is very hard though when your livelihood depends on it, you can’t help but think of what will sell and then become an artist worst fear, a sellout!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I specialize in Large-scale abstract art. I am known for my style which is very fluid and organic with vibrant colors. I paint predominantly with water and acrylic and experiment with different ratios of the two mediums. I love playing with color and am always striving to come up with new and exciting color themes. Color is so important, it can provoke an emotional response to the viewer forming a strong connection to a piece without having a recognizable image. Lately, I have been including charcoal and geometric lines and shapes in my work. I think it is important to try new things and just keep the ideas flowing! I think my work ethic sets me apart from others. I am a bit of a work acholic, but it forces me to evolve. I HAVE to work out any ideas that come to me and see where it takes me, or else it eats away at me! I think my work ethic has helped me get as far as I am right now as a professional artist. You have to put in the time and work really hard. I think what sets artist apart from people who paint is the constant streaming of ideas and that urge to work through every idea that comes to you until you figure out what works and what doesn’t. There is also a lot of background work like emailing, networking, applying for shows, etc.. These are all steps to getting your art out there and is very time consuming and challenging however, these struggles and challenges help you grow as an artist and enables you to create something consequential.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in Logan Square and I am a little biased but I would definitely stick around the Logan Square, Bucktown, Avandale area! I hope my friends like to eat and drink but here we go, I would take them to Daises for some amazing food and local wine, Sultan’s market in Logan Square has an incredible rooftop patio. I also really like Handlebar for their gluten free menu but just all around good food and vibes! I have a lot of vegetarian friends so The Chicago Diner is a must stop. I would take them to Middlebrow for the best pizza and beer and then jump across the street to Tasty Freeze for dessert. Gretel is right next door and has the cutest basement bar and also an amazing menu and a ton of whisky. Some of my other favorite bars are; Central Park Bar, The High and Low, The Native, Solemn Oath Brewery, they have a pool table that is timed so everyone can play. I also like playing pool at Bob Inn. If we are at Bob Inn then we might as well stop at Fireside Bowling and end the night at Logan Arcade and play pinball! When I do have friends in town I always take them on the architect boat tour and see the famous sites around the magnificent mile. The Garfield Park Conservatory is another great spot to go, especially in the winter, it feels like you are in a nice warm spot for an hour.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Create Magazine has a book that their creators, Ekaterina Popova and Alicia Puig co wrote called The Complete Smartest Guide. This is such a great book that helps with the business side of art as well as how to get noticed by a gallery or how to submit your work the right way. They are two women that have done really well in the art world and want to share their knowledge with others and I am very thankful to them as this book has really helped me!

Website: www.katiemeuser.com

Instagram: klmeuser

Linkedin: Katie Meuser