Featured Artist Update: KayIllustrations

Cat got your tongue? You’ll be practically speechless after discovering the quirky and delightful designs of DBH’s returning Featured Artist KayIllustrations! We’re excited to showcase the long-time DBH artist for an update on her artistic journey. If you’ve ever found yourself torn between a love of the bizarre and a simple appreciation for all things cat-inspired, then KayIllustrations has the perfect mix for you right meow!

KayIllustrations considers that “an art style is a journey” and she is still on the road to discovering her own unique style. She loves to contrast soft pastels with horror themes to create a design that feels distinctly her own. She always carries a “small notebook to write down or doodle any random ideas.”

However, she says she gravitates towards “a little bit of cat, skulls and a sprinkle of eyeballs. It's a mess but it works!” She jokes that her pet cat continues to be one of her greatest creative inspirations. She shares that he is always up to something and “one minute he has the zoomies and the next second he's the sweetest” but that he is always the perfect inspiration for her designs. Similar to the idea of a cat flipping and flopping around the living room, KayIllustrations believes creativity is like when you “take something common then turn it upside down, flip, twist, and make something unexpected from it.”

Even with a beloved cat as a partner on her artistic journey, KayIllustrations struggles with “the little art critic inside my head, judging my art process.” Although she admits that it can often be helpful for an artist to listen to that internal critic, sometimes one also has to just “trust the process” and ignore any doubts or insecurities. She encourages artists to “keep on practicing those art muscles” and never give up.