Artist - designer - poet

STATEMENT
Since a young age, I have been inspired by the things that I could not see - but rather feel. This life-long passionate pursuit of capturing the indescribable has been the driving force of my artwork. Over the years, the act of creating art has allowed me opportunities to explore the vast ways one can capture and communicate the powerful essence of what is invisible aligned with memorable moments in life - that stop time. My personal and artistic journey has led me down the path of searching for and finding a centered place in which I can thrive, grow and create while being surrounded by the chaotic nature of living life. These learned life lessons, paired with the goal of personal growth, are the inspirational core of my work. 

My creative process begins by journaling about a special moment in time - surroundings, feelings, and learnings. This information then informs the elements in the work - like line, color, shape and composition. With this inspirational foundation established, I start the painting by trusting my creative process and artistic intuition. Once the painting has been completed, the journal entry also acts as the base for the final poem to be paired with the painting. For me, the process of writing before I make is a critical step in my creative process. Writing allows me to uncover what is the important essence of the work and its meaning before I pick up a brush and start to paint.

The act of making art is something I love and I am honored to do. I also treasure the challenge of abstracting something that can’t be seen but felt, by using the elements of art and mixing them with mood and motion to create work that embraces human complexity and dimension to tell a rich story of unforgettable moments.

BIO
Kate Gray is a professional fine artist and graphic designer. Gray has won numerous art and design awards and has been featured in more than 50 art exhibitions. She received her B.F.A. in Advertising Art and a minor in Marketing from the University of North Texas and received her M.F.A. in Graphic Design from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Gray has more than 30 years of professional experience in all areas of the communication, design and art fields.  Her experience includes: teaching graphic design as a faculty member at Stephens College; owning her own award-winning design firm, Add Design; designing for the Intel Corporation; direction and curation for the Montminy Art Gallery and managing a creative team as the Assistant Director of Publications at the University of Missouri.