Portfolio
"Little Wonders"
July - August 2024
“Little Wonders” carries themes of whimsy, nostalgia, and fun. An uncharacteristic but boldly intentional inclusion of miniature illustrations brings an unprecedented level of playfulness, surprise, and humor. Some iconically Vineyard, others universally magical, all are infused with a feeling of time standing still. Each painting juxtaposes smooth gradients with precise still lives to meld the feeling of childhood joy with the adult knowledge that the happiest times in our lives can be pin-pointed to these small moments, and remembering who was by our side when they happened.
Each Little Wonder is paired with a haiku, to add emphasis to the big impact of small things.
"nEXt"
March - June 2024
In an unprecedented Taylor Swift-esc moment, I subconsciously painted a series about the agonizing nature of dating. Created over the past 3 months (throughout my last failure-to-launch) each painting was painstakingly painted one color at a time, from left to right, each overlapping with the previous. Soon enough, I realized this practice was hilariously reminiscent of a sequence of dates in an effort to get to know someone new. It wasn’t until each piece was complete that hindsight allowed me to see the whole thing clearly. I wound up with paintings that symbolize the kinds of people my single friends and I are sick of wasting our time on. Each got “x-ed” with the very thing that held it together all along - the tape around the edges - where I wrote the word that popped into my head once I realized what each represented. All except the largest one… read on for why.
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HOMECOMING
January - March 2024
Her first solo show since moving back to her home state of Connecticut, “Homecoming” is Katie Southworth’s celebration of so much more than a move.
Themes of independence, openness, transition, softness, and the sublime have made their way from Katie’s newfound lifestyle into this new series, in which she explores what it means to return to the self in a way that yields true holistic health and wellness. Inspired by the self-love of early rising, habitual living, natural dopamine, peaceful solitude, new connections, and vulnerability, “Homecoming” captures what it feels like to be both in power and at peace with unprecedented independence.
Low Lights Series
November - December 2023
2023 was really hard for me. This past fall/winter, after all the life changes and various impediments to my creativity, seasonal depression and burn out hit me pretty hard. I struggled to create. I practically forced myself to paint this series out of desperation to keep my head and heart above water. It is smaller than typical because that's all I could take on, and I feel proud to have honored my limits. Little did I know, however, that the sizes would also help me drive home an important point about mental health:
To me, this series is about gratitude for the power of attention to small things. When you're going through it, it's easy to only notice that bad, and what's going wrong. But, if you actively pay attention to the gratitudes and joys that come along, however small they may be, it's possible to hardwire your brain to get back to a healthier place. In other words, they may be small, but added up, they create big change. Each piece honors a small thing that helped (helps) rewire my head. The Lights during my Lows.