Q & A With Chicago Artist Katie Cooper

View Katie Cooper's artwork

The Chicago Girl: I was looking at the painting "ceci c'est pas la realite." Is Magritte your favorite artist and why? From where do you draw your inspiration?
Katie Cooper: I do adore Magritte. He is not necessarily my favorite artist, but is one who had made a huge impact on me. It was through getting to know Magritte that I fully realized that art can, and should be so much more, than "something to look nice, above a couch." Artwork is supposed to have purpose. It is supposed to raise questions. Magritte helped to make this clear to me.

TCG: How would you describe your style?
KC: My personal style could be described as a mishmash of humor, realism, surrealism, and consumerism.

TCG: Do you think about the meaning behind what you want to paint?
KC: I am interested in those things that we, as consumers, can't get enough of. I like to take this idea, and blow it up to a sort of grand scale. I take things that we use and see everyday, and blow them up in a sort of masterful style. These things then become almost holy.

TCG: What is your process?
KC: Once an idea, or an image has stuck with me for a few weeks, I go to my stretched canvas, and begin sketching in thin layers, with oil paint. Many, many layers later, I have a piece worthy of heightening the "Wal-Mart" experience to that of a holy and ritualistic one.