We were lucky to catch up with Kat Janis recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kat, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

In the last 15 years, I’ve navigated odd jobs, ventured into a marketing agency to broaden my skill-set, faced debt, climbed out, and circled back to a salaried design job with the aim of saving for the next artistic adventure. This, my friends, is the artist lifestyle—lonely at times, some nights fraught with insecurity, yet entirely worthwhile as long as you honor your craft and chosen path.

Art serves as my secret sanctuary for self-expression, but when it comes to client work, I see it as design—a collaborative effort to bring someone else’s vision to life. There’s art for yourself, for work, and for others. Recognizing them as distinct entities with different metrics revealed that none of them are prisons but worlds to explore.

Re-entering the workplace may feel like selling out or serving time in a creative prison, but I prefer to see it as going to school. It’s an opportunity to step outside my comfort zone, earn money for the next art project, and keep the ultimate goal alive: to continue making art. What a lifestyle, indeed

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m primarily an oil painter and illustrator, but my commercial endeavors veer into videography and graphic design. I was privileged to be introduced to various art materials in high school, but it wasn’t until my early twenties I got into an art practice. I was in a rough patch battling drug/alcohol addiction & when I got sober I realized I had zero coping skills to help get me through the day.

Art became my refuge, a safe way to express myself without worrying about people. The process at that time was all that mattered to me. As I sought to turn this passion into a profession, I dedicated myself to an intense art routine studying how to be more business oriented and making large quantities of art. After eight years, I realized it wasn’t sustainable & barely making ends meet made my social world very small. So I got a job at a marketing agency where I discovered graphic design and embraced using my art skills for commercial work, despite initial resistance.

In the past five years, my focus has shifted to refining my video skills and exploring the world of cinematography. It’s been a dynamic journey, and I’m excited to see where my artistic pursuits take me next.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I think the most gratifying part of being an artist is earning the title of ‘artist’ and proudly embracing the lifestyle. It might sound bold, but it is. I think being an artist goes beyond mastering an impressive skill set; It’s how you choose to live and interact with the world. What I qualify as an artist is more how a person is able to keep an agile mind, stay humbly curious and unsure about anything, and remain authentic and expose themselves in their work. To create from that place of uncertainty and show the world is absolutely terrifying- but very intrinsically rewarding.

I recall a mentor advising me, “You have to risk it all for each piece if you want it to be truly impactful—money, stability, mental health—let it break you, and then create from there.” It’s dramatic but undeniably true. I’ve made a lot of pretty pictures in my life but only a few stand as true art pieces- if that. What I’m getting at is the rewarding nature of the artist lifestyle. I genuinely love being an artist, and I appreciate the journey we’ve all taken to earn this title.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

“ART I NOT SPORT”

Art is not sport.

Art is not a competition.

I had to learn art is what I make for myself. Design is what I make for others. That changed everything for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.katsnaxx.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katsnaxx_art/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kat-janis-a91561186/

Image Credits
Profile photo: Ethan Dangerwing Photography