KATIE YARNOLD
Oakland-based artist, Katie Yarnold, is a figurative and portrait artist who often paints images of her friends, family, and loved ones. Each portrait she creates endeavors to portray the unique complexities and intersecting identities of the individual depicted.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My representational portraits and figure paintings explore questions of belonging, intersectional identity and visibility. In slightly surreal oil paintings characterized by vivid, true-to-life colors and motifs of liminal spaces, I mimic the photographic technique of double exposure. The human figure is superimposed against images of nature and exposed wood grain. This reflects how different aspects of one’s identity overlap and intertwine in a way that often leaves us feeling exposed. The subjects of my paintings, varied in age, race and gender, are all individuals who experience hyper-visibility. Constantly subject to the gaze of others due to an aspect of their identity, they are set apart from those around them. In my paintings, the subject often subverts this gaze by staring at the viewer, imploring observers to meet their stare and see them as they truly are.
Each painting is the result of a multi-step process. After a spontaneous moment of connection with my subject, I attempt to portray what I saw in them. I begin by interviewing the individual and taking reference photos of them in their work or living spaces. Once I’ve gathered visual and background information, I spend time sketching while considering which natural elements I will feature in their portrait. In some cases, I incorporate locations that are important to the subject. Other times, I choose imagined landscapes that are reflective of the inner world of the individual. Once I’ve compiled background material, photographs, notes and preliminary sketches, I finally begin the weeks long process of painting a very detailed and realistic portrait of my subject. I aim to express not only their outward appearance but also their personal narrative, joys and challenges.