ARTIST'S STATEMENT

This world is too big for any of us to grasp. 

Paint helps me engage with the world, and respond to the beauty and suffering around me. Through the intimate attention portraiture requires, I discover more of the mystery of being human. 

My art comes from my life: the people I love, the music and books I enjoy, the complexities of faith, the ordinary and astonishing realities of the world. In this way, painting compels me to expose what I love, and insists that I pay attention to life: that I delight in details, hunt for beauty, and accept the weight of uncomfortable questions and emotions.

As these images map my journey, may they welcome you into conversation with your own experiences and give you a reason to ask, “What do I love?”

Katie Joy Nellis lives and paints in Lancaster County Pennsylvania. She studied painting at Gordon College in Massachusetts and in Orvieto, Italy. Since graduating in 2013 she has worked as a self-employed artist, illustrator, and art tutor. She specializes in oil portraits on wood. 

Video by Lee Tomassetti for Poiema Visual Arts, 2021