Meet Kat Dent | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kat Dent and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kat, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
Truthfully, I think my main motivator to keep creating is the drive to create itself. I genuinely love creating, whether it be for myself or for others, and I think falling in love with the process of creation rather than the outcome of it is what keeps me going.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am currently finishing up my undergrad at CU Denver as an illustrator. Aside from school, I also have an Etsy called KD Coven where I sell prints and stickers – which has been so much fun to add to. Most of my art is inspired by the occult, nature, and video games – art is such a wonderful way to express my love of life, and also how nerdy I am! I primarily work digitally on my iPad, or with pen and ink. I plan to experiment this year more with traditional mixed media, collage, and printmaking, as it has been a new passion of mine. I am also so excited to be finishing my first collective series of works as part of my senior thesis project, and to present them in a gallery for the first time!

I honestly got to where I am mostly by a love of creating. I learned that I loved drawing and painting in my last year of high school and wanted to expand my knowledge of art, and surround myself with other creatives. Through my peers at school, I learned how to start selling my art through Etsy and participate in art shows. I still feel like I am at the beginning of my artistic career, which is both exciting and daunting. Being an artist is never easy, but seeing how much I’ve progressed within the last few years, and knowing I will continue to grow is so rewarding. One of the hardest lessons I’ve been having to learn over the last few months in particular is letting go of perfection. The creative process is messy and hard to contain, and the more I try to control and force it, the more frustrated I get. I am relearning how to love the creative process itself more than the product of it, because the process of expression is the reason I fell in love with art in the first place. It can be hard to remember that when a passion is monetized. I’ve also been learning how to balance the art that I do as work, and being creative outside of drawing. Recently, I’ve been finding other ways to express creativity that have nothing to do with the work I create for school or my business, and it has been incredibly freeing and inspiring.

While I am finishing up school, I’m not entirely sure where my artistic career is headed but I am so excited to see where it takes me.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
One of the first places I would take someone in Denver is to step out of reality through Meow Wolf. I would take someone to Mutiny Cafe to check out the comics, books, or fun live events! If my guest wanted coffee or tea somewhere else, I would want to take them to Stellas to hang out, and maybe catch some music on a Saturday. During the day, I would take my friend to Wax Trax and Twist & Shout to go look for new music. In the evening, we could go to One Up to get drinks and play games.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
So many people deserve recognition for encouraging me on my artistic journey. My biggest supporters throughout my life is my family and all of my wonderful friends. I also owe so much to the professors I’ve had at CU Denver that have taught me so much – particularly Lily Williams, who encouraged me through so much self doubt within the last school year.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kat_dent/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kat_dent13

Other: Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/KDcoven