We were lucky to catch up with Katelyn Chapman recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Katelyn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
From my personal experience, and those of my peers, you don’t learn how to market or sell your work in BFA or MFA programs. I hope this is changing across schools because it’s a crucial part to being a capital-A Artist. I know teaching at the college level is highly encouraged in many Masters programs and it’s the route that I took mainly because it was practical. But I had enough of working towards my “Plan B”. In August of 2023 I made the decision to leave my full-time teaching position after only two-years (I taught as an adjunct professor for four and half year prior to that) and pursue my Art Career full-time. As I mentioned, they don’t teach you the business side of art in a studio art program, so I invested in a business and finance class for creative entrepreneurs last fall.
Until then, I only had an idea of how I could earn a living from my creative work. This course I took got me in full spreadsheet mode crunching numbers, budgeting, and planning out my entire year to figure out how to make it possible. When I ran the numbers, it turned out I could potentially earn more than I was teaching as a full-time professor. Shocking. I know. Society tell us we can’t be artists or else we’ll starve… The key is to have multiple streams of income and a few different price points or “offers” around your creative work.
I still teach art, but through short-term workshop formats both on my own, through my local art centers, and art museum. This allows me the time and energy to make paintings. I also sell limited edition prints and original paintings. Since painting sale are highly unpredictable, especially this early in my career, I lean on the workshops more heavily and usually teach at least one every month. On top of this, I apply for artist grants which afford me the financial freedom to create more. I apply and usually attend at least one artist residency a year as well. Many of these offer fellowships and stipends for your creative work and connections with other artists and people in the community.
It’s not an easy path to take being an artist, but it is fulfilling and possible. It takes a lot of planning and preparation, but you can absolutely make it happen. I am.
Katelyn , 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?
I come from blue-collar roots–a long line of school teachers and folks that work with their hands. From an early age, I picked up on an appreciation for the handmade and the value that’s placed on things based on the time and labor that go into their making. Thankfully, my creativity was noticed and encouraged as I grew up. This mentality and the encouragement surrounding it inevitably influenced my labor intensive process of painting now.
I received my BFA with an emphasis in Drawing from Clemson University in 2014 and then pursued my MFA in Drawing & Painting at The University of Georgia (’18). It was in graduate school that I really focused on oil painting, which has become my primary medium. Now, I paint authentic episodes of America’s rural working-class South through the lens of my own family and friends in the Midlands of South Carolina. I index my upbringing in this place by referencing backroad dispositions in conjunction with symbols of faith and Christian iconography. By painting these accounts, I celebrate, honor, and show reverence towards the customs and traditions of the rural working-class South.
Relying on rich history, storytelling, and the ephemeral quality of change that span past, present, and future tenses; I primarily focus on the function of the still life in rural spaces—both wild and domestic—as practical makeshifts and collections. The work often toys with paradox and humor to buttress these themes through depictions of off-the-grid habits as they relate solely to living off the land. These ideas are crucial to building messages that point dually towards the literal and figurative challenges and undertakings in the Bible Belt region. In the American South, this notion provides perspective on larger societal issues that point to a past that can’t be thrown away, but instead lingers on into the present.
When we see rural Southern culture represented in the media, it’s not usually in the best light–often mocked, imitated, or heavily stereotyped. It’s important for me to portray this narrative in an honest light that shows the contradictions, the grit, and the beauty of America’s rural South. I am proud of the work that I am making and my efforts to address the erasure gap between two the disparate worlds I exist in: the rural working-class South and the Art World.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Being able to tell stories and record moments in time that would otherwise go unnoticed, forgotten, or leave the world with passing generations is very rewarding. Art allows you to express yourself more freely and create work today that will become pieces of history tomorrow. You add substance to the world with each piece you make and leave your mark in the process.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
There are so many situations in life that we cannot truly understand until we are wearing those shoes… That said, I believe there are several aspects to my own creative journey and to those who are on similar paths that are difficult for non-creatives to grasp. For me, it’s largely how I spend my time and what is considered “work” that people struggle to understand. I think that the assumption is that artists like myself just get to have fun and paint all day. While the painting is a huge part of it, the artist wears many hats.
My paintings are not created in a vacuum. While I spend a lot of time being a studio hermit, my work doesn’t get out into the world if I don’t put myself out there. A big portion of my time is spent connecting or networking with other artists, applying for exhibitions and art prizes, applying for grants and residencies…When I’m not having a “studio day”, I’m usually having an “office day” and working on applications and emails to set myself up for opportunities down the road. I am my own bookkeeper and run my own website, which require regular attention. Some days are “shop days” where I make a run to the hardware store and return to build my canvases or frames for my paintings. Other days, I spend time photographing references to paint from and play with composition, or I’m photographing and cataloguing my finished work. Artists also need to have time to do nothing. It’s not laziness. For me, ideas and productivity come with rest and being able to recharge my batteries, clear the mental clutter, daydream and access my creativity. While the resting part, may not look like “work”, it’s an integral part of the creative process. Ultimately, what constitutes as “work” varies widely and often follows a cyclical pattern based on what stage of creating I’m in.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.katelynschapman.com
- Instagram: @kschap
Image Credits
Kolton Miller & Katelyn Chapman