Upcoming: Summer 2025

Read my artist talk

Below is the transcript of my artist talk, given at my Willow Street Gallery show “The Shape of Becoming” on June 8, 2025:

”Hi everyone—thank you so much for being here. I’m really happy to share this show with you, The Shape of Becoming, and to talk a little about how I got here, how the work came together, what inspired it, and try to share a little about how I think when I’m working on paintings.

I began painting during the pandemic. My “day job” then, as it is now, is family and commercial photography - during the coronavirus quarantine, I found myself on a sort of forced sabbatical as families put a hold on lots of things: photo sessions being one of them. I baked some sourdough bread and propagated my houseplants like a Victorian Lady Botanist, but that didn’t scratch my creative itch. 

Fortunately a photographer friend of mine was also a collagist, and I persuaded her to talk me through getting started over a Zoom call one afternoon. A few glue sticks and home decor catalogs later, I was off to the races. I found an online course on abstract composition, which opened my eyes to the ways that the rules I knew for making a beautiful photograph could translate into choices you make as you assemble a collage… and soon after that I took a 12-week online course that focused more on painting, and that set me on the path that has led to this moment, here together at Willow Street Gallery in a room full of my paintings. 

I’d like to spend a little time looking together at the pieces in this collection, because they do tell the story of my process. 

These three paintings here are the genesis of the entire collection: I often begin a fresh set of paintings with several 12x12 boards, the size allows for me to work on all three simultaneously. At this stage, everything is up in the air - I’m just mixing colors, putting swaths of color down on the panel, working out ways to arrange these shapes, and seeing what catches my attention, what makes me feel interested or curious or particularly excited. 

My process is very intuitive and kind of playful. I don’t usually start with a clear plan—instead, I just begin with a shape, a gesture, a color, and see where it leads. I respond to what’s happening on the surface as I go. Over time, patterns start to show up. Some things get covered, others come forward. It’s a slow build.

Each painting grows out of the last one in some way. I will intentionally carry over some fragment from one to the next - it might be the same colors or it might be some aspect of the way that elements interact. Eventually, a rhythm develops. A visual language starts to emerge, and I start to see connections I didn’t intend. That’s when I begin to understand what the work is really becoming.

A lot of what I’m doing is about iteration—about returning, revising, layering. Nothing is fixed until, well, until it needs to go up on a wall.  I find the direction through the process itself. It’s not something I know from the beginning—it’s something I discover through making, through trial and error, and through paying attention to what’s already there.

Now, you can probably tell that the five “Emblem” paintings on this wall are a bit of a side journey running parallel to these other pieces. Instead of filling the entire panel with these shapes, I’ve let these structures stand alone in a kind of open field of color. They might look like a logo or an icon - for me, the word emblem resonated with me to explain these pieces. They’re distinct and succinct. 

THe last piece I painted for this collection is Ignite, which you may be able to see, is a direct line back to Through the Veil, but on a larger scale. 

In terms of inspiration, I’ve always been drawn to the midcentury modern aesthetic—those clean lines, bold shapes, the balance between restraint and play. I also really love the Color Field painters, like Frank Stella and Alma Thomas, especially their use of color as something immersive and emotional— an end in and of itself. In fact, Alma Thomas has a painting called Mars Dust which makes use of essentially this same palette of red over a base of blue that shifts between deep ultramarine and teal, creating the same kind of visual shifts that you might be able to see in Chromostereopsis here. 

Ann Truitt has been a big influence too. She would glaze thin layers of color over and over on her paintings and sculptures, to build these subtle shifts which light could pass through to reflect back. I try to bring that same kind of layering into my own work, where earlier marks are still present, even if they’re eventually hidden. That layering becomes a kind of history—a record of the process.

This series was also influenced by a book called Invisible Cities, by Italo Calvino. It’s the story of an imagined conversation between Marco Polo and Kublai Khan. Khan has required Polo to recount details of the cities he has visited in his travels - and while Polo describes wonders and curiosities in a very metaphorical style, it is possible, he tells the Khan, that all his stories are really about Polo’s beloved Venice. That in travelling the world, what Polo has really discovered is new ways of understanding his origin. That idea really resonates with me, and it’s something I try to express through these paintings. They aren’t just pictures—they’re records of a slower, and ongoing, becoming.

Ultimately, this show is about transformation—about repetition and change, about finding form through process. I hope the work invites you to reflect on your own path, and how we’re all constantly revising, reworking, and reshaping who we are.”

Showing up. Being seen.

The closer I get to the opening of my upcoming gallery show on June 1st, the more vulnerable I feel. I'm learning a lot as I move through this process, and soon, I'll be putting the whole thing out there for all to see. That’s what’s got me feeling vulnerable.

The process of creating a body of work for a show goes passes through several phases - and the first few happen within the quiet cocoon of my studio.

First is the early phase of exploration, which is like wandering along the edges of a familiar path and find that a whole new path lies ahead, inviting me to see where it leads. In this phase, I'm in my studio trying out new colors and playing with arrangements of shapes to see what engages my curiosity. Little by little, through experimenting and following my intuition, I find certain colors and certain interactions of forms that interest me - this usually leads to the first 3-4 paintings I'll make for a collection.

The next phase begins as those first few paintings provide me with ideas to expand on. I'll build on those ideas by starting new paintings that repeat or respond to a detail from one of the starter pieces. It might be a certain shape made bigger or smaller, or made in a different color; or it might be a fresh design using color combinations discovered in those starter pieces. At this stage I'm definitely working from a more defined set of parameters - keeping to the same palette and repeating interesting motifs - but I’m still open to exploration. It’s as if I've found the trail I want to follow, and now I'm getting familiar with the terrain. This stage might account for 4 or 5 more paintings in varying dimensions.

The next phase is akin to mapping the trail so someone else can follow - it’s the stage where I refine the existing pieces to unify the ideas that have come forward as I experimented. I’m making sure the motifs are evident, and the palette is cohesive. I try to notice if there are any “gaps” in the narrative, where I need to make any additional paintings to connect some with others. I’m making sure that a viewer of these paintings can find the trail and follow me through the collection of work, and see the same connections and interactions that I do. There might be one or two new paintings at this stage.

Once these steps are done, it’s time to start sharing the work with others, and preparing myself to talk about it, to become a guide through the landscape I’ve created. Time to hang the work on the walls, write the artist talk, and commit the whole thing to public view. This is where I start to feel vulnerable: is it good? Is it interesting? Does it resonate with others and ignite their curiosity? How can explain my process and concepts to others, clearly and simply? Brené Brown says “Courage begins with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.”

I’ve been listening to the audiobook version of artist Anne Truitt’s journals. A mother of three children, and a single mother by the time they were teenagers, Truitt was also a dedicated artist managing all the complications of domestic and professional life. In the early 1970s she began a series of paintings called the Arundel paintings - all of which were variations of a large white surface with delicate graphite lines and/or subtle stripes of a whiter white. She was very keen on them, and they exhibited in 1975 at the Baltimore Museum of Art. They were widely panned. One irritated museum visitor sent the curator a three page letter of complaint: the first page said he would like to share his thoughts about Anne Truitt’s Arundel paintings. The second page was a blank white page. The third page was his sign off. Another critic called for the museum to have its public funding revoked for having exhibited this series. The harsh reaction cut Truitt to the quick, and yet she continued to add pieces to this series until 1999, creating seven in total. I aspire to her courage and vulnerabity, whether or not I ever reach the level of her talent.

I feel sure my first show, The Shape of Becoming, opening June 1 at Willow Street Gallery, won’t expose me to widespread public distaste, so I don’t need to fear that. What I hope for is that friends, collectors, colleagues, and maybe a few strangers can find me, can see the new work, can connect through it to some thread of truth within themselves, can follow me on the journey I took in creating it. And just maybe, someone will want to take one home to share their own journey.

Spring Release: Limited Edition Prints

Here are the Spring Limited Edition Prints!
They will become available for purchase in mid-May (as soon as they are delivered by my print partner!)

Each image will have 6 editions available. These are printed with archival inks on fine art baryta paper. Prints are 9x9 inches in size. The printed area is 7x7 inches with a one-inch white border on all sides. Each print is signed and numbered, is presented in a protective bag with a signed certificate of authenticity.

Pricing is as follows:
Editions 1 - 3: $65
Editions 4 and 5: $85
Edition 6: $99

Members of my VIP email list have received an invitation to pre-purchase at a special price. You can join that list here and receive an invitation. Otherwise check back in the Collectors Space for these to be posted, in a couple of weeks!

Woodpeckers

Winter Wonderland

Amalgam

Upcoming!

Here’s a rundown of places I’ll be hanging out, showing work, teaching classes and such, over the next few weeks. There are a few other irons in the fire I can’t wait to tell you more about soon. Or, come by one of these events and I’ll spill the tea.

Help select the next 3 limited edition prints

I need your help choosing my next limited edition prints!

It's time to select three more paintings to create limited edition prints, and I would love your help choosing which ones to make! I created three different limited edition prints last October, and 8 of the 12 available sold within a couple of weeks.

I am creating prints of 3 more paintings from my Rock Creek Park Collection. Like their predecessors from Fall 2024, these prints will be 6x6 inches with a one inch border, signed and numbered. They are printed with archival inks on fine art paper and will include a Certificate of Authenticity.

Here are the options for the Spring Limited Editions:

To cast your vote, please leave a comment on this post with THREE (only 3!) paintings that you think would be perfect for a limited edition print.

Tell me which paintings you think will make the best prints to offer for spring!

Wondering how limited editions work?

When an artist creates a limited edition of prints, they select a set number of prints that will be created at that size. Once those are all sold there will never be another reproduction of that print at that size. For this reason, limited edition prints increase in value as the available number of remaining prints decreases.

Open Studios at DC Arts Studios!

This Sunday, November 3rd, DC Arts Studios is open to guests from 1-5pm.

Many of our resident artists (including me!) will have our studios open, with work in progress on view, plus original works and other art for sale (oh and snacks!). It's a great opportunity to see artists at work, and find a new treasure to bring home!

The address is 6925-D Willow Street NW (we're across from the Takoma CVS)

DC Arts Studios has provided a vibrant and collaborative studio community for artists in and around Washington DC since 1979.

Meditative Collage Class

Meditative Collage Level One is a three-class series, meeting on Sundays from 1-3pm on Oct 27, Nov 10 and Nov 17 in the Artists’ Lounge at DC Arts Studios, 6925-D Willow Street NW.

Abstract collage is a terrific entry point into creative art making, and an ideal practice for cultivating mental wellbeing though arts. Learn composition techniques and explore materials for creating engaging collage pieces in a supportive environment with artist Katie Jett Walls. The class will include short readings from books such as Your Brain on Art, Big Magic, and Conscious Creativity.

Class is $99 + $10 materials fee

Week One (10/27): Intro to collage materials and techniques | Inviting Creative Play Into Your Life

Week Two (11/10): Intro to Composition and Color Concepts | How the Arts Contributes to Mental Wellbeing

Week Three (11/17): More on Composition and Collage Structures | Keeping Up Your Art Practice

Email me at katiejettwallsartist@gmail.com to request info and to register for this class. Max of 8 students so register today!

Mother’s Day Gift Guide

For all the moms who love engaging with art, here are a few ideas for gifts they will love! The books are available locally at People’s Book in Takoma Park, and all the other suggestions are available from me! You can purchase them, OR purchase a gift card from me for Mom to use as she pleases on any piece of original art currently available. Use the contact button at the top of the page or email me at katiejettwallsartist@gmail.com to arrange purchase!

Spring Open Studio at DC Arts Center

I will be one of a dozen or so participating artists at DC Arts Studios’ Spring Open Studios on April 28th.

Painters, fiber artists, and photographers will be hosting guests in their studio space, demonstrating their work, and offering original art as well as gift items for sale. Guest can explore the work spaces of local artists, and support local business/arts in the heart of Takoma Park.

I’m working on a few smaller pieces as part of my Rock Creek Park series. I’ve got several pieces I’ll be offering at a special price for those who visit my studio - doing a little spring cleaning before I leave in June for several weeks travelling out West.

If you’re free and in the neighbourhood on April 28, please do come by!