Catie Lewis, Oil Painter + Muralist

Words by Sam Lauron Photos by Eric Morales

A three-month-long trip to Asia sparked the artist within Catie Lewis. Fresh out of school, Catie traveled across the world with a friend where they immersed themselves in their environment. They saw murals and art around every corner, including in the hostels where they stayed.

“I was in India for the first leg of the trip, and we stayed in a hostel where we were allowed to paint on the walls,” Catie recalls. “My first ever mural was a funky, tropical painting above my friend’s bed.”

Soon after returning from her inspirational trip, Catie had the chance to explore her newfound interest even further when the smoothie shop where she was working in Charleston, South Carolina, commissioned her to paint a mural for them. 

Though murals weren’t a common sight in Charleston where she spent her college years, or Connecticut where she grew up, Catie noticed murals everywhere when she moved to Austin in 2019. 

It was here that she found inspiration to really pursue her calling in art, along with encouragement from her coworkers — all of whom she says had a creative side hustle of their own. On a whim, with only a sketchbook of drawings, Catie applied to be a vendor at an art market soon after arriving in Austin. “It was really nerve-wracking,” she admits. “I had literally nothing but sketches in my sketchbook, but I signed up and was like, ‘let’s see what happens.’”

The self-taught artist began showing her work, which was primarily minimalistic line drawings at the time, at local art markets around town up until the pandemic hit. Though the lockdown initially threw off her steady cadence of markets, the time spent at home allowed Catie to explore new mediums and take her art to the next level. 

Already experienced in murals, line drawings, and acrylic painting, Catie decided to give oil painting a try. “I had already tried so many mediums and styles and subject matters,” she says. “I wanted to go a bit further and find a medium that let me pull off all the ideas I had in my head.”

One of those ideas stemmed from her time in Asia. She looked back at photos from her trip, which included a visit to the Philippines, where she was born and where her birth family lives, and felt inspired to represent her Filipino heritage using oil paint. What resulted was a collection of oil paintings that depict the tropical beauty of the Philippines and the strength of its people. Connected to her ancestral roots, Catie continues to focus on Filipino women as a muse for her work. 

“My work is getting more complex as I go because I really want to push boundaries and see what I can do,” she says. As she continues to explore her style and interests as an emerging artist, Catie’s journey is one that’s rooted in self-discovery. “I personally want to feel empowered by my art,” says Catie. “It’s really just for me.”

Contact:
catielewis.com 
@catiegl.art