With both parents being artists, you could say painter Kit King was born into it. “Art is life,” states King in an interview with Jung Katz. “Art is my breath, my escape, my happy place. Art is my own safe haven in a hectic world. It’s where I go to hide from it all, and is also where I go to enjoy it all.”
The Bahamian-Canadian contemporary artist is an undeniable master when it comes to realistic paintings, with her emotionally-charged hyperrealistic portraits looking more like photographs than paintings. But incredibly enough, her techniques were learned through trial and error, having received no formal training through art school.
“I’m sure you can learn a ton from art school, but it depends on what you want to take from art, and where you want to go with it that should determine whether or not it’s for you,” says King. “For me, I couldn’t imagine being ‘taught’ art. It’s one of the only free things in this world and I’ve personally gained so much from having the artistic process be 100% my own journey, untainted from outside influence.”
Exhibited around the world in galleries and museums throughout Canada and the United States, as well as the United Kingdom, Germany, Mexico, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates, King’s art deserves the hype. With more than 340k followers on Instagram, she has also won several awards, with her work being found in both private and public collections worldwide including the MET’s publication collection.
“Whether I make it big, or die a nobody, I spent my life doing what I loved, and I didn’t need student debt to make that possible,” says King. Now there’s a message we can stand behind.
