Kat Ostrow

“For me Art is an Adventure.”

sun, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 30″ x 40″

 I am a creative. I consider art to be more a calling than a choice.

So much inspires me and it is my nature to spill creatively, through music, prose, or some kind of visual art. My background is in music. Growing up, I was so focused on music that I never even noticed art was there waiting. Art began tugging at my edges in 2001 and being one who follows such impulses, I began to draw and added collage to my daily journaling. The seduction of making has been pulling me along ever since, but it was only after I walked into The Drawing Studio in 2007, that I truly began to think of myself as an artist. In December, 2008, I began painting and fell in love with the potential of acrylics. The process of making is what drives me, and I only have a vague idea where any piece will finish.

I am inspired by people – more specifically by the strong emotions I sense just beneath the surface.

What motivates them? What is too much to bear? What lifts them up and inspires them? I am always flipping through art books, magazines and internet sites soaking up the inspiration I know will lead me to spill in some creative way. The more I look, the more I see.

dream, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 24″ x 36″

While painting or drawing I try to follow my impulses, both those I think are productive and those that probably are not. I make very bold changes, layering one upon the other. It is often when I believe I will have to scrap the whole thing, that I make the most amazing discoveries. I have found that there is never a wrong move. The work I do next would never have been what it is without all the steps I have taken.

It is when I stop thinking and just react that my paintings and drawings sing.

untitled, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 24″ x 36″

I consider the process of painting an exploration. I paint using brushes, palette knives, sponges, paper towels, my hands or whatever else is available when the urge hits. I work through the whole canvas during each painting session. Generally I will draw in pastel or charcoal once the paint is dry. I sometimes use the drawing when I begin again or I may just wash it away. I like to use a lot of water and love to let the paint drip.  I believe the process is when the art happens. The finished product, if I like it at all is a bonus.

My work is not stagnant. Unless I sell it or give it away there is always the potential for change.

this, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 36″ x 36″

My paintings straddle the line between realism and abstract. I use exaggeration, random marks, geometry, texture, color and focal point to get under the skin of my subject. I always begin with a visual inspiration: a photograph, an artist’s work or a person. I think my work is always better for the opportunity to listen, to look, and to react.

untitled, (sold), 2009, acrylic on canvas, 24″ x 36″

Art is my heart’s voice. I can say things artistically that I can never hope to speak or write. My drawings and paintings are as much about my inner workings as what I see.

i am, 2010, acrylic & ballpoint pen on canvas, 24″ x 36″

My art is an editorial, a map of my inner paths. I participate in a #draw365 group of artists on Twitter who are dedicated to drawing every day. I draw daily, regardless of my mood or whether I am inspired. In the doing, I never fail to find inspiration. I have found that quantity leads to quality.

slant, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 30″ x 40″

Recently I collaborated with Detlef  Cordes to create this video of my drawings. In the video, my work is accompanied by Detlef’s beautiful “Unintended Music”.

Kat Ostrow’s  Website

Kat Ostrow’s Posterous for drawings

Kat Ostrow’s Posterous for paintings in progress

This autobiography is part of the Escape into Life Lives of the Artists project.

Posted by Carmelita Caruana