Karina Scott
Student, Multi-Media Artist
Instagram: @karinascott.art
Tiktok: @karinascott.art
Portfolio: https://www.karinascottart.com/
On May 30th, KBI hosted our first ever live event, “Mapping Futures”, a night packed full of events, workshops, and a live recording of Life Outside The Box. Riding off the momentum of such a fantastic event, it seems only fitting that our two live painters from “Mapping Futures” should grace the Artist Spotlight section to keep the good vibes going.
Karina Scott is a 24-year-old artist and BFA student studying at the University of Windsor, with a favour for oil painting, watercolour, and illustration. After she graduates, Karina hopes to move to Toronto to immerse herself in its vibrant art scene. Besides art, Karina can be found cooking, baking, reading, and caring for her house plants. “I like to live a more slow-paced life, haha,” said Karina.
When asked when her love of art began, Karina said “it's such a cliche answer but I’ve really been drawing and painting for as long as I can remember, I was always labelled the artsy kid. I had a little baby easel and I loved my watercolour set. However, my interest in making art fluctuated throughout high school and I didn’t really get serious about it until I graduated. I took a gap year to work and decided I wanted to go to art school. It’s hard to put a finger on what exactly draws me to art—I think I truly just love to make things. I love being able to take a concept from nothing but an idea in my head to something tangible, being able to turn all the ideas I have into something real. But more so than the concept, I think the process of making is my favourite part, especially for painting. Applying the smooth oil paint to a textured canvas or seeing the watercolour paint blend just right, it's so gratifying.”
"Vancouver Island"
When talking about her inspiration behind her art, Karina said “I find for me inspiration kind of involves a process of taking in as much content as I can and seeing what strikes a cord. Everything from music, movies, cartoons, fashion, social media (Pinterest is great!), and the work of other artists inspires me in different ways. I like to follow artists who work in all different kinds of mediums and styles because I find they all offer different perspectives and ideas. Some of my favourite artists that I follow on Instagram for inspiration are @leahgardner.art @vita_k_studio @annalaura_art @marijatiurina @choodraws and @tofuuday
And of course my roommate @generationillustration :)”
Like many artists, Karina’s relationship with art is constantly fluctuating. “The opportunity to create, express myself however I want, and share my work with others is incredible but at the same time creating art can be very draining and stressful. Pouring your emotions into a piece, trying to force a good idea, being your own biggest critic, and holding yourself to unattainable standards can all weigh on me. My personal goal with all of the work I make is to create a positive impact and do what makes me happy. Whether I’m creating something that's nice to look at or something that pushes a message that's important to me (mental health and environmental issues for example), I want to do something good,” she said.
Untitled still life
“This piece was a part of my BFA thesis project where my central themes were mental health and childhood. My goal with my thesis was to portray my experience dealing with anxiety, perfectionism, and feelings of self-doubt that have been with me from a young age. The whole collection was incredibly cathartic and something I could only make now looking back on how much I’ve grown.” Karina shared.
Animals and "cartoony art styles are things I’ve always been drawn to, and with this piece, I really wanted to make something that was cute and kind of childish upon first glance but more upsetting and surreal when you take it in. My painting style tends to be extremely smooth and clean and I put a lot of pressure on myself to have my work turn out exactly how I intended it to (note the perfectionism mentioned earlier). Despite how it may look I did try my best to let go with this project and really have fun with the painting process, utilizing dripping paint and spray bottles to force myself to be less precise," Karina said.
"You Can’t Go Back To Where You Came From"
Katie has been selling art from the age of 12, where she first showed her work at Cullen’s Gardens. She is a passionate artist, teacher and performer, creating pieces for live audiences during events. She is an art director for living colour and an intuitive healing artist with Raddical Art. Katie is working with many organizations involved in mental health, youth programs such as Unsinkable Stories, Restoring Smiles, Restorations Canada, and more. She is adaptable, high energy and creative, using bright colours and cheerful images to portray the power of a positive outlook, even when going through negative experiences.
“My goal with art is to build a more creative future, utilizing the mental health benefits of the arts. I want to normalize space for everyone to have creative play in their day to day.
Next for me are workshops, live shows, teaching and being open to accepting where this journey through art takes me,” Katie said.