Today we’d like to introduce you to Cat Tesla.
Cat, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I never thought I could be an artist. Sure, like most kids I loved art. Drawing, painting, sewing and sculpting. In high school, I excelled in math, science and art. I even got a scholarship for the first year of college for art, along with academic scholarships. But guess what? We didn’t know anybody who was an artist. My parents certainly didn’t support the idea. I clearly remember my Dad saying: “well you’ve got the first year covered, good luck if you want to pursue that.” Those words sent me down a 20-year path into the world of science, not art.
Years later, after obtaining a Master’s degree in Human Genetics and being on faculty at Emory University, I began to wonder. I was still painting on the side in my free time. I wondered if I could get accepted into one of those art festivals? My friends and I would go to these outdoor art shows and it was like a drug to me. Seeing all of the art, talking to the artists – it was exciting! They were doing it! They were making a living from their art. It was then that I realized that I COULD be an artist.
The following year I created slides (mind you it was 1997) of my paintings, filled out the application and mailed it in. And. . . . I was accepted in the show! Not only that, I sold nearly everything I brought, won an award, and got invited to be in a gallery. The very next week I went part-time in my genetics job. My parents thought I had lost my mind!
Fast forward 4 years – I had some medical problems and had to have a hysterectomy. My plan was to quit my day job about 6 weeks after my surgery – I had been selling my art on the side and was ready to make the leap to full-time. A month after my surgery my husband was diagnosed with colon cancer. He was 41 at the time, I was 38. It felt like the rug of fate was pulled out from under us. I couldn’t quit – we needed the medical insurance that we got through my job.
It was another 5 years before I finally quit my genetics job to be a full-time artist. By that time I needed help – things had really taken off so my husband quit his day job to be my business partner.
I now show in galleries in the US (Thomas Deans Fine Art in Atlanta + others) and UK and my work sells worldwide.
It’s been 24 years since that first art festival.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My work includes both abstracted nature-based and purely non-objective works. The subjects I choose to paint are organic, either originating from Mother Nature, or inspired by her. My artwork provides the viewer with a bold graphic element from a distance, but up close they’re rewarded with rich organic details and texture.
Using nature as my muse, I combine color, shape, and line resulting in a painting that has tons of layers, gestural, and free. I use acrylic, inks, graphite, wax crayon, oil pastel, & oil glazes. I start each painting with a ritual: taking a hike or sitting outside, doing mindful meditation and then beginning. Coming to the studio centered and without expectation allows me to have a conversation with the canvas. A mark is made, in response another, and another, and the dance begins.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
There’s so much to do in Atlanta! Art galleries, concerts, great restaurants and sports. But I’m not a fan of all that traffic.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.artbycat.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cattesla/
Image Credits:
Simo Tesla
