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Artist Spotlight: Katie Brooks and Preserving Memories on Leaves
This month, we are excited to feature the work of Katie Brooks, a remarkable artist with a passion for painting fine art on leaves. Inspired by nature, her art is bursting with color and texture, that captures fleeting and joyful moments in life. Read more about Katie’s journey as an artist below!
What was your journey like to become an artist? What inspired you to start?
Art has been an almost impulsive part of my life for as long as I can remember. It’s how I’ve always made sense of the world, I think. But I think I really began taking art seriously in my early teenage years. I had an incredible art teacher in high school who encouraged me to document my work and share it in some way to remain consistent. That led to me creating the social media channels I use today, and ultimately my website/online shop. In my early 20s, those social media channels began picking up more momentum, leading me to take the leap into art full time back in 2021. I had always known that art would be a large part of my life, but I never would have dreamed it would get to be my actual job!
What are your creative inspirations? Or where do you draw inspiration from?
I imagine it’s pretty evident that nature is one of my largest inspirations—but I’m most fascinated by our methods to hold on to precious memories. I’m especially interested in the way that we keep little natural tokens of places—seashells from our favorite beaches, pressed flowers from a loved one’s garden, or pebbles from a favorite river. I like to think that my work takes this practice a step further, by turning these tokens into a depiction of the place itself.
Why did you choose to paint on preserved leaves?
While I’ve collected (and painted on) all sorts of found natural materials for quite some time, something about leaves just really stuck with me. I’ve always found myself especially attached to forests and trees, so keeping leaves seemed like a natural way to hold onto a piece of meaningful trees throughout my life. The first leaf I ever painted was from my favorite tree on my college’s campus: a gorgeous ginkgo tree that decorated the sidewalks with golden leaves every fall. I love that preserved leaves are an artifact of a particular place at a particular moment in time, and that using them in my work roots the artwork itself to that moment and place. I also love that the choice of species can add another layer of meaning. For example, using an invasive species (like kudzu, here in NC) in a piece suggests a very different message than a well-loved and celebrated species (like our native rhododendron).
What are the best leaves to paint on?
I’d say the best leaf to paint would be one from somewhere you love! Though I will say I’ve grown to favor certain trees over the years. White oak, red maple, beech, redbuds, and ginkgo are leaves I find myself reaching for most often! They tend to press and dry consistently and make for the best “canvas.”
What does your art process look like?
My process starts with preservation. The biggest key is to be sure there’s no moisture left in the leaf. I press mine in an old cast iron book press (but a large book gets the job done, too!) for at least 3 weeks. Once the leaf is fully dry, it can be prepped with gesso just like canvas! One of my favorite parts of this process is pairing the scene in my head with the perfect leaf and adjusting my composition to complement each species’ shape. After I’ve finished the painting, I seal the back of the leaf too and mount the piece on a linen-wrapped board. That goes into a gallery frame behind a protective sheet of acrylic glazing, and then it’s ready to display!
What is the biggest challenge with working on small and fragile surfaces?
It’s easy for me to get sucked into details (they’re my favorite), and I often have to rein myself in a bit to work with such a small canvas. But I will say that the fragility of the leaves is definitely the most challenging factor! Over the years, I’ve sort of shifted my technique to accommodate the fragility of my canvas—sweeping large brushstrokes away from the veins of the leaf in the direction where they’re the strongest. But I’ve sure torn plenty of them along the way, and sometimes still do!
Do you have a favorite leaf that you’ve painted?
It’s hard to narrow it down to a favorite—I’ve painted over 300 of them since I began! But I will say there’s a few I find myself a bit more attached to. It’s the North Carolina scenes that I find it most difficult to part with, especially as most of them are painted on leaves from my childhood home. I’ll admit that I do have a few that I’m keeping for myself, there’s a few precious places and moments that I want to hold on to, too!
What is your favorite piece of advice you would give to other aspiring artists?
Start wherever you are and stay consistent! It was the best advice I was given when I began. I’ve been sharing my work online since I was around 14, and I’m 26 now—so I’ve certainly got pieces I look back on with a bit of embarrassment. But I do believe that each piece—even the ones I’m not super proud of—took me a step closer to finding my voice as an artist. The pieces you’re proud of will keep you motivated, but I believe it’s the ones you don’t love that are really making you a better artist.
What are your Princeton brushes of choice?
I imagine it’s no surprise that I reach for the tiniest detail brushes most often—but I especially love Princeton’s Velvetouch line of brushes!
Where can people find more of your work?
I share my work under the name @KatieBrooksArt on all platforms, and a full gallery of my work and process on my website, KatieBrooksArt.com!