ABOUT KATRINA
Katrina Thibodeau is a Canadian self-taught contemporary artist.
Opening her first business at age 17 this young artist was awarded the Young Entrepreneurship Award of Ontario and has since gone on to be featured in Bridges to Better Businesses, CTV News, and was awarded the Excellence in Entrepreneurship for Sault Ste Marie in 2018.
Katrina is an established Canadian artist, and has been gaining traction internationally within the past year. She was the only Canadian artist to be featured in the Top 18 Finalists at the International Contest of Contemporary Art for 2021, where her artwork was on display in Milan, Italy. She has also been featured in publications in Spain and for Create! Magazine recently, and just gained news that she will have a Solo Exhibition in Seoul, South Korea, during Spring 2023.
With hyper realistic monochromatic and full colour portraits being her main focus due to the boldness and raw ability in allowing her to capture emotion, this artist's talent is depicted on the canvas as she lets the art speak for itself to draw out deep emotion from her viewer.
By leaving the background of her works predominantly untouched, it intends to draw focus onto every expression, no matter how subtle, hoping to impact the viewers in different ways.
“So many of us go through life not feeling. We avoid emotion, self reflection or simply being alone with our own thoughts. Acknowledging an emotion and expressing it through vulnerable presence is liberating.
One of the most life changing things I have done is allowed myself to feel. Whether it’s an emotion society deems negative, or true joy, there is tremendous value in stepping into it, feeling it and letting it pass through you. So many of us suppress, ignore, pass by and judge our emotions. I want people to feel, relate and reflect when they view my work. My intention is to provoke emotion and vulnerability.”
-Katrina Thibodeau
As a young woman growing up with dyslexia, Katrina was drawn to exploring her artistic expression through a variety of mediums, from painting, to sketching, to tattooing, to playing the piano. Nonetheless, her strongest passion lies with oil painting where she can express freely and without constraint.
For nearly 15 years Katrina has been perfecting her portraiture abilities through the art of tattooing and has now transferred these highly refined and technical skills onto massive life sized canvases.
Her work is described as raw, vulnerable, emotional, intensely detailed, of high quality, and impactful.
Having been recently inspired by the heavy and repressive feelings during the covid lock down of 2020, she created one of her most vulnerable pieces to date: Restrained.
This 48 x 60 life sized painting was met with incredible skill and strength as she put her soul on the canvas to capture the very raw, helpless, restrained and frustrated feelings she and the rest of the world were experiencing.
Sharing her emotions and allowing the art to speak is this artist's way of helping the viewer see that they are not alone.
As this emerging contemporary artist speaks through the art she encourages you to find your own creative outlet to express your emotions and embrace vulnerability. Catch the interview below to learn more.
Katrina is the newest board member for the Art Gallery of Algoma, and is regularly commissioned for her oil dry brush portraitures and nude model studies for both private collectors and commercial businesses.
If you would like to commission her, click here.
Gallery Owners and Exhibitions are encouraged to contact Katrina’s assistant in order to request a catalogue and book her for your show.
If you are an art investor or collector, don’t miss this opportunity to be a part of Katrina’s journey where you will gain multiple levels of investment through her rare and captivating pieces.
To purchase her art you can do so here in the online shop.
For any other questions or to schedule a time to speak with Katrina directly, please book through her assistant and we will reply to you with 1-3 business days.
Photographers: Riley Wilson, Brie Gallagher, Matt Swiderski | Videographers: Riley Wilson, Joe Schlapsi