Artist Feature // 5 Questions for Kate Long Stevenson

I’m super excited to share the work of Kate Long Stevenson with you all. Kate is a crazy talented expressionist painter from Charleston, SC. Some of you may already know and love her work!

Kate specializes in both figurative paintings and abstracts, but gestural brushstrokes and a beautiful use of color are characteristic to all of her pieces. I love the loose but balanced quality to her work. She is inspired heavily by music and for her the creative process begins with a very uninhibited and energetic rendering of either the figure or simply the movement she feels from listening.

See more and get my Q&A with Kate below…

5 Questions for Kate Long Stevenson

1) What is your favorite kind of work to do at the moment?

Large, fluid, gestural abstracts. Currently I have canvases strewn around my studio floor that I’m pouring paint on, smearing with charcoal, messing with on the wall, then back on the floor for more layers.  All the while listening to music turned UP.

2) What kinds of things inspire you?

My children, music, musicians + composers, time in the kitchen, stimulating conversation, the array of color at the art supply store, devouring a book, film, living by the water…really, anything from the color of morning light on an unmade bed to seeing a long-admired painting in a museum gets me.

3) Who else do you admire in the art space?

Mallory Page has such a wonderful studio practice—super prolific and connected to what she’s painting, and the work is gorgeous!  I also have my heart set on a Carrie Yamaoka piece—her process is completely foreign to me, which ups the intrigue and fascination.  The reflective nature of her panels makes them almost interactive.  My all-time favorite artists are Willem de Kooning, Chuck Close, John Singer Sargent and Simeon Braguin.

4) Coolest possession?

Having to choose, I’d say it’s a large work on paper by Priscilla Heine.  I carried around an image of the painting for a year and finally bought it.  It’s the visual anchor of my house and brings me absolute joy.

5) Favorite quote or words to live by?

“For what it’s worth, it’s never too late…to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it.  I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that startle you.  I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again.” —From The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

To see more work:

Follow Kate on Instagram, or visit her site for more! For Charlotte locals, you can find her pieces at Hidell Brooks Gallery.

Hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week!
xx—BB