We recently connected with Kaity Lacy and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Kaity thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?
I have my parents to thank when it comes to every success I have had in life. From a very young age, both my parents taught my brother and I the power of empathy, as they led by example. It was instilled in us that with most every interaction we would have with others, we should ask ourselves if we had treated them the way we would want to be treated. This was not limited to people, but with animals too. We were taught to catch bugs and release them outside the house. Pets were family members always and all kinds of animals were beings to admire and respect. Animals no matter what type, had lives and wants and needs and emotions, just as we did.
My parents encouraged us to follow our dreams as most parents do. I never was one with athletic talent or interest in sports, so they found other activities to encourage. Piano lessons, art camp, girl scouts and even before any of that, and what was perhaps the most influential, there was painting in a hospital when I was just two years old.
In my past 35 years of life, there were two times when I was so unbearably sick, that I think both became turning points in my life. When I was two, it was determined I needed a liver transplant. I was flown out from Pennsylvania to Nebraska to receive that lifesaving operation and recuperated there for months while my parents cared for me. Being that I was so young, I don’t have many memories of this but what I do recall is mostly sparked from photos. They brought music into my hospital room and on our breaks from there, they set me up with paints and an easel in the children’s hospital playroom. Here is probably where I had my first real experience with art and its therapeutic power. With the help of my parents and family, and of course an amazing team of doctors, after many months, we made it back home. Looking through pictures today, despite the trauma my body was going through, I generally look happy painting away, making brightly colored pictures in my hospital gown smock. Funny enough, I look just as thrilled when I was well enough to leave the hospital on day trips to the local zoo, when I would watch the polar bears dive in and out of their tanks.
Thirty years later, I would have another episode of liver failure that stemmed from a virus I picked up while teaching Humane Education courses within the local school districts. Even though I was an adult now, in a lot of ways my parents and family treated me in much of the same as before. Though I was in the hospital for about a month and recovered afterwards at my parents, mostly on bedrest for months after; I was beyond lucky to have had many of the same comforts as I had when I was younger and sick. My family slept there in the hospital night after night, never leaving me alone once and when I got better and was released, our family dog, Nina, took over those shifts. They never left my side. As I got better, my partner, Kris, and others who are close to me, would visit and bring comforts from home. My dad made trips to bring my almost 20 year old cat Devon for visits and I was able to start back up on my art again. At first in small scales and eventually making plans for bigger projects, once I got my strength back. All the while, my family had been delivering paintings that I had finished right before I was sick, my parents had been caring for me around the clock and the animal rescue community that had supported my art and our missions that aligned to help the most in need animals, had now supported me and my recovery as well.
I now know why I find it so compelling to visually capture the stories of the most down-and-out, in need animals. Their resilience and ability to come back stems not just from their inner strength, but also and maybe even more so, the ability of their dedicated caretakers and that of the community to rally for them just as I have been so blessed to have throughout my life and whom I found first in my parents.
Kaity , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Today I create personalized painted pieces inspired by the love people have for their animals. I began my own business almost 8 years ago, naming it “Shelter Art by Kaity Lacy,” and even before that began painting shelter animals I would meet in my time working at a local SPCA. The portraits capture special moments families have had with their best friends, a special look they always are greeted with when they’d come home. They can capture a place or a setting that is special to you and your pet. They can be as fantastical, and as colorful and imaginative as possible, or simply be true to life and represent the perfection of just how your pet was or still is. Each is personalized to represent the feeling and connection particular to those you have for your pet. This can involve bright expressive colors on a large canvas or delicate small brush strokes using the soft tones of watercolors. Each piece is special and designed specifically for every family I work with. And while my mission is to express the love between families and their animals through painted animal portraits, often the stories of specifically rescued animals are being shared. I do this also by supporting and advocating for the animals in the care of local rescues through monetary and art donations made from commissions year-round.
There often is a connection between a person and their animal that even dives deeper than we have with some of the people in our lives. Although I paint all kinds of pets, I notice that those who have rescued their pets want to share the story of how they first met. The animal’s story before they found their family, the care their pet received with a rescue in their journey to getting better and being brought into their home; it all plays a part in how they love their animal.
Lately, more often than not, I begin relationships with clients after their beloved pet has passed, so it’s important to me that their pet is captured in a way that they envisioned but also that honors their memory. Along that same line, the end of a pet’s life also comes with a lot of heartache as well as financial burdens. Last year I began offering smaller canvas pieces as well as watercolors and hand painted ornaments that can all serve as a special, yet modest (costing under $100), way to commemorate your pet in a sensitive, personal way.
Every single customized portrait I create results in 15% of the proceeds donated to a local animal rescue. By taking a step to memorialize someone so special to you, you are also contributing to helping another life in need. I make it a point in donating to rescues I have worked with directly unless the client requests otherwise. The rescues that benefit from Shelter Art pieces are those whom I know their process; often times we are current or previous fosters with their organization. I know the veterinarians they work with, their adoption process and requirements. In short, the rescues supported give phenomenal care to each and every animal that enters their organization.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Yes, so much so, that I don’t think I would be the person or the creator I am today without particular experiences and perspectives that have driven me towards the mission I work with in mind currently.
Years ago, I remember interviewing at a local SPCA as a teenager and when it came time for questions I had about the organization, I had asked about euthanasia and how often it was done. I knew it would be the hardest part about working there and wanted to prepare myself. The operations manager gave a vague answer, which I interpreted as “occasionally.” Looking back today, that answer was anything but true. I worked there for years and for much of the time animals were put to sleep for reasons that seem criminal to me today; animals that were too skinny, too fat, too old, too young, animals that developed colds at the shelter, animals that became stir crazy from being caged, dogs that weren’t “adoptable” due to their breed, cats that were feral and euthanized upon intake.
I began painting some of these animals; those that made it out and those whose last days were spent there at the shelter. I think in a way, it was my way of internalizing and digesting a lot of what was a really sad reality. These paintings also served as memorials for so many who deserved a chance at a fresh start. Many who faced harsh endings, were failed by humans from the start. Their eyes expressed it, in both real life and the paintings I was creating.
It would be fair to say that times have changed and today’s shelter standards are higher and their everyday operations differ. I still am an avid volunteer at overcrowded, underfunded shelters like the one I started at but things are different. Yes, there is still euthanasia for the reasons listed above, but there are also now programs and people that dedicate every day to trying to find rescue organizations for the most at risk animals. Special needs animals that find themselves at these large and overcrowded open-intake shelters, (shelters that take in every owner surrender animal and every stray within their city limits), the behavioral or medical cases, are often promoted to smaller rescue organizations. In Philadelphia, near where I reside, the “urgent” cases get promoted with video and images and accompanied with medical and behavioral evaluations based upon the observations of shelter staff and volunteers. Here’s where that particular animal and his or her care, shifts from the sole responsibility of that shelter, in the case of Philadelphia ACCT PHILLY (Animal Care and Control Team), to the hope that another organization can step up and provide more care than often the dog or cat could receive in the limits of the shelter.
I say all this to try and, well, paint you a picture. An animal may be sitting there in need and a shelter with over a hundred other animals may only be able to provide a cage and basic medical treatment. There aren’t capabilities to treat broken legs, infected or ruptured eyes, skin infections or emaciated bodies. These are common injuries and conditions the shelter sees every day. These animals are now promoted to the public and promoted to smaller non-profit organizations called rescues. This is where the magic happens and transport is organized, funds are raised, emergency treatment is provided and care in a foster home is second chance at a new life. And this is also what I like to capture.
This is where many of my paintings come to be. Almost 15 years ago my perspective of the world really changed. I saw the animals that were treated as throw-aways. Cats and dogs that were a part of families for 10 years and more, that were now merely an inconvenience. Animals that were too sick and beyond the point that care could be provided. Families that lost their homes and now had no choice but to surrender their beloved pet to the care of someone else, even if that care meant being caged next to a hundred other animals without a home. There are all different reasons for not being able to or not wanting to care for someone you once did, some being more valid and heartbreaking than others, but all leading to the over population at animal shelters and there being no other choice than cut down on the numbers within. That’s when rescues steps in.
A majority of my personal creative work has to do with the transformation that is made from a rescue committing to an animal in what would have been their last hour, and giving them the love and resources needed to live a quality life again. Along with shelter dogs and cats who have been rescued, I also paint families’ beloved pets. Most of these families want to tell me the story of how they first saw their animal, their story, the condition they came to them in and how both their lives have changed since then. Most pieces, whether commissioned or done simply as a donation, often represent a merger of both stories; the magic within that animal a family loves like no other, and the story of how they found themselves connecting to that animal through a rescue and the people who gave him or her that second shot at life. That becomes the mission, to visually express the worth of the animals I paint and the story of how people helped give them back their lives and their value.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
I would say we can all do our part to support people, businesses and organizations with missions that align with our own beliefs. There are limits to everyone’s budgets and everyone’s capabilities to support the large number of independent businesses out there. I think the significant presence of social media in our lives has come with both negatives and positives, but the opportunity for creators to get their messages heard or in this case, seen, has to be one of the most influential contributions of our modern digital world. Now you can share a post or write a positive review about an interaction you had with a small business, (or the result of a portrait you had commissioned), with the potential that thousands may see it. Nowadays, with the time the average person spends in front of a screen, the power of our words may mean more than anything else and it costs us nothing to be kind.
In a more personal way, I have received more referrals and have made more connections with clients interested in portraits this year than ever before. This comes directly from the rescues I work with and support. Local Philadelphia area rescues Fishtails and One Love Animal Rescue, in particular have really been supportive in recommending me to families looking to have a memorial portrait made of their beloved pet. I feel really lucky to have made these connections because I get to hear and in return illustrate the stories I am being told, but also because they strengthen my mission behind the business and result in more donations for the animals in need.
Contact Info:
- Website: shelterart.org
- Instagram: @shelterartbykaitylacy
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KDshelterart/
- Other: Etsy- etsy.com/shop/shelterart Publishing company I am a partner and illustrator with https://archimedesprintingshoppe.com/collections/gata-unbound-a-series-for-ailurophiles-of-all-ages