The Mad Hatter: Have I gone Mad?
Alice: I am afraid so. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are.
-Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
I have had several people ask me what was the inspiration behind "Out Of My Head", how did it come to be? So I decided to discuss it a little bit.
I have been doing art ever since I could remember. A lot of my pieces are western art related that I have complete with every now and then something a little out there. My biggest passion when it comes to art is really to be able to tell a story. Growing up my dad was an artist as well as a story teller. Every night I would have books read to me by him or my mom that were fairy tales or family tall tales that had been passed down. Watching him create art, he would usually use it to illustrate stories. He truly captivated the viewer with the scenes that he would create, leaving for them to put together the story inside of their head. When I began to create art, that was my goal as well to be able to create stories.
However, my art has always tended to lean towards realism more. A good friend of mine, Jonathan Saavedra had mentioned and showed my art to a friend of his that mentioned to him that they liked my art, but that it would never go further unless I pushed myself. That all of my art was the same. They said that what made an artist truly great was the abillity to adapt and be versatile. So Johnny encouraged me to challenge myself to go out of my comfort zone and prove that I could do anything. The first piece I created was a quick abstract. I was irritated that I was being questioned on my skills and being asked to do something so simple to prove my worth. In the middle, I slapped a big golden triangle because Johnny had said that they wanted more "modern" art which included geometric shapes. A triangle is definitely a shape and the gold was meant to stand out. I feel that I chose this shape subconsciously. I have a medical background in pharmacy and also attended the BSN nursing program at Lamar University, I did not graduate, but was in the classes. In medical, the triangle is a symbol for change. Therefore it was really ironic that in a piece that would be a test for me, that I would choose the specific symbol of a triangle and make it gold. I believe that this was a turning point for me without realizing it.
After I finished this piece, Johnny said It was great now do bigger, do better. Make the crazy lines, all of the geometric shapes and make it on a HUGE canvas....... I had a canvas that was 4ft by 2ft and he said go for it.
I set up the artwork against the wall and stared at it for days, trying to decide what I wanted to do. Finally I came up with the idea of a woman with her thoughts coming all out of her head. I was irritated at being challenged on whether I was a good artist or not and I wanted to scream. For me though, I need references and I do not like to use my own self if I do not have to. So I reached out to a good friend of mine Brandie Rothkamm who is the owner of Bee Photography and asked her to pose for me, which she so graciously did.
Then I started the fun process of piecing it all together. The painting took well over 60 hours to complete. It was Johnny's idea to add the tape going across that would be the spots that were not painted over. The best part was when I had Brandie's face perfect and Rosalee had hit the painting with black across the face ruining it.
Luckily I was able to wipe most of it off, but I was left with Brandie's face being messed up. But it was ok. I took a couple months hiatus from the piece haha. I focused on some other pieces. I think it was one of the worst feelings I have ever felt.
Rosalee, the baby, however, was very proud of her accomplishments. After she had completed her "art" she had the biggest smile ever. She was so proud that after I cleaned it up a second time, she decided to attack a second time!
After I went back to the piece, I did not work on Brandie's face right away. Instead, I worked on all of the little details that was above her head and the background. I actually waited until the very end to do her face. About the time I thought I was finished, Johnny had another great idea of turning the background color into a dark grey instead of just plain white which it was originally supposed to be.
One of the hardest things about this piece was probably making smooth even lines for all of the detail in the contemporary art that was coming out of the girl's head.
Once the piece was finished, Johnny could hardly wait to see it in person and quickly acquired it and wanted a picture with it. It was kinda of like a proud parent moment for him with the help that he done.
I have included the video from Tiktok for this piece into the article. I hope that you have enjoyed a look into the behind the scenes of this piece. If you are interested in claiming a print of this piece, please reach out to me.
Also make sure to check out my Tiktok @kaitlynnelette, Instagram @kaitlynneletteart, and Facebook @kaitlynnelette
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