We were lucky to catch up with Katherine Hoffman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Katherine thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

I wish I would have started sooner straight out of college. It wasn’t until I moved to Orlando in 2016 that I started trying to apply to art festivals and had the confidence to show my art. It really was the job I got after moving here at Painting with Twist that made me fall in love with painting again.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started Kats Mini Art in 2019 with just an online Etsy shop. I focused mainly on hand painting tiny 2×2″ size canvases that I had been exposed to at my time teaching art classes at Painting with a Twist. Then I started applying to local shows and art festivals in Orlando. The great community of artists in Orlando really pushed me to do more and I started offering bigger paintings, prints, and really expanded from beyond the mini painting niche. Most of my work focuses on pop culture references or local landmarks / food (anything that makes me smile). I liked the idea of mini art because whenever I was little and going to art shows, I always felt purchasing was unattainable. With what I offer at shows I’ve sold hundreds of kids/teens their first piece of original hand painted art and I think that’s something really special. (Even if it is a D20 painting or silly movie reference.)

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

One of the biggest resources I found was a site called Zapplication. It’s a great resource for finding shows in different areas is you are looking to branch out. It also is a good mix of art/craft festivals versus fine art juried shows depending on where you want to start your journey. Usually juried is more expensive because of potential prize money.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Like many artists and creatives I still work a full-time day job. While it would be great to be a full-time artist I have not had the courage to take the leap! It does limit the amount of shows I can apply to but I still have fun doing what I can.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.katsminiartandmore.etsy.com
• Instagram: www.instragam.com/kats_miniart
• Facebook: Kats Mini Art and More