Katie Kmet is a “northern girl,” born and raised in Dawson Creek, B.C.
Kmet enjoyed the arts from a young age and thought she might explore the subject in college. But while she was still in her teens, she tentatively tried to enter a gallery show of art in her home town and it did not go well.
It left a mark on her, that affects her art to this day.
“I was in my early teens and nervously brought the pencil drawing of magazine glamour shot up to the gallery counter, where I was reprimanded for drawing from a photo that was not my own,” Kmet explained.
“They still put it in the show, though, tucked at the very end of the spiral gallery. I went back to the car and cried.
“Perhaps that’s why I always paint from my own (or clients’) photograph today.”
Like many kids from the north, she wanted to find out about life outside of the confines of a small town once she graduated, so she packed up and off to Vancouver Island she went.
Her graduation show at Camosun College she remembers as a magical night having the love and support of her now husband.
She also sold a large framed photograph.
“This was in stark contrast to my first community art show in Dawson Creek,” Kmet recalls.
After that graduation show in 2012, she moved out of her dad’s basement in Shawnigan Lake and started working at a brand new luxury hotel on the ocean in Oak Bay (part of Victoria).
“I was able to move into an above-ground suite with my boyfriend and start living the Victoria B.C. life, which mostly consists of working, biking and live music. I worked my way up to management and ended up staying for six years, only painting casually.”
When it came to year five, working a stressful job, Kmet set her sights on other things.
She would visit her best friend who lives in the Bulkley Valley and fantasize about owning a home and getting out from underneath the city lifestyle.
In 2018, Kmet and her husband Michael, ditched the stressful jobs and city, took a giant leap of faith, and made the move to Smithers. They were able to purchase a little house in Smithers, just the right size to allow for a studio for Katie to start a new venture in her life. Michael was able to find work right away, so things were looking up for the pair.
“I started to paint again and sell pieces through the art gallery. That fall I started working in marketing for a local radio station and continued to create, Kmet said. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. They had unknowingly moved right before the pandemic hit.
“We had our first baby during the pandemic and it was really tough,” she explained.
“No family in town and my best friend underwent an amputation. By the time my son was six months, I needed help with postpartum depression and anxiety.
“After seeking treatment and being more active, my whole life changed. I had more energy and motivation to start creating again. I started to paint more than I had in 10 years. I decided to stay home with my son and pursue my art business.
“I got inspired to create POLYCHROME — her art show now on at the Smithers Art Gallery — when I was experimenting with abstracting my landscape photos. I paint from digital studies utilizing photo editing software. After finding the composition I desire, I edit the colour and tones into my expressive paintings.
“I wanted to focus on individual colour mixing, and utilized a polygon function to extract the dominant colour in a given area of the picture. After painting the first piece, ‘Botticelli’ I knew I wanted to paint a whole show using this approach. With encouragement from my friends and family, I applied for the show at Smithers Art Gallery.”
Her old studio is now the nursery, so she set her paints up in their mudroom, literally a “nook,” albeit a beautifully well-lit one.
When her son was sleeping and on weekends she got to work over the course of 2022.
A thousand colours mixed and a dozen acrylic paintings later, POLYCHROME was born.
“The angular effect shown in the series of paintings, really speaks to me as someone who has always loved illustration, animation and video games,” Kmet said in describing her style.
“My hope for this show is to entice the viewer with expressive colour and examine the ways technology shapes the way we relate to our environment.”
It is a unique and very colourful show, full of dimension and depth as an observer walks through the gallery.
“I am so grateful for the nurturing art community here in the valley,” Kmet said. “Painting each of the colour segments was cathartic for me.
“It was like I was putting myself back together one polygon at a time.”
“I’m so thrilled with the positive response to my show, as I see my painting and reproductions in the collections of art fans across Canada and the U.S.”
As her show is continuing at the gallery, Kmet has now moved on to a commissioned piece from a person who admired her style on TikTok.
Being able to work from home and reach a worldwide audience online has opened many doors for Kmet, and has affirmed her belief in sometimes taking a leap of faith, and seeing where it takes you.
For Kmet and her family, it has taken her to a place where they are living the life they wanted and to happiness.
“What more could you ask for?”
