Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaitlin Brito.
Hi Kaitlin, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
If you ask anyone in my family, they would tell you I have always been in touch with my artistic sensibilities…not that I was always very good, but always itching to be creative. Though, the moment I think I realized that I was drawn to the world of illustration specifically was during a visit to my family’s country of Peru. My parents both immigrated from Peru to America, and when I was young, they made it a priority that I see family there as often as I could. And one fateful trip when I was just barely eight years of age, my uncle noticed I was still particularly concentrated on drawing, I suppose he noticed something in my shaky lines. He was an artist in his free time, a skilled illustrator at that, and he gave me lessons, and before I left for home- his sketchbook. I cherished that sketchbook for years, doodling away my ideas hoping one day I would make images that captured people as he did. I like to think this event was a catalyst for my inspiration for wanting to make art for people to see and in turn, continue the train of inspiration.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My path to being an inspiring illustrator came with many bumps in the road. First came when I had to decide if I truly wanted to pursue art as a career and take it seriously, apart from just being a hobby. Before college, I had begun to doubt myself and my abilities. While my parents both supported me, they also had concerns if I too would “make it”. But eventually, I just knew that it was the right decision for me, and I wanted to prove anyone who doubted me- wrong, including myself.
Since then, there has still been plenty of moments of doubts, or just moments where it all feels like so much and I simply want to quit and take a break. And yet, in those moments where I rest, it is as if my mind can never stop racing with ideas for a new project of illustrations, propelling me to continue forward and overcome my negative thoughts.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am currently A senior illustration Major at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Once I graduate, I hope to have illustration as a full-time career, doing anything and everything in the vast world of illustration art. My love and specialized interest within the many practices and mediums of art have always been the delicate dance of linework. I have always loved the raw art of drawing with a pencil or pen. For a while, I tried many different things and experimented as one does, but I always found myself most comfortable and most skilled when I picked up a pen and ink. My work now has my inked lines at the forefront with the addition of my love for vintage-inspired coloring and textures. I am most inspired by a strange mix of illustrations from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, all my favorite decades of illustration for different reasons. And aside from technicalities in how I approach my work, I think what sets me apart from others is my ability to capture emotions and scenes that the human eye cannot see, ones that can only be “seen” in imagined images. I love to illustrate images with a quirky sensibility yet highly careful attention. And in doing so, still providing rich and fully realized imaginings that one wishes existed in real life. I am most proud of the joy that my audience tells me they receive from viewing my work. I love being able to put a smile on someone’s face by drawing a fanciful filled image.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The most important lesson I have learned along my journey as an illustrator is to simply stay true to myself. It is so easy to fall into the trap of comparing myself to others when there is already so much wonderful talent in the world, especially in today’s social media-driven frenzy. It is important to understand and remember just how special everyone truly is and how each and everyone one of us has something to offer to the world that the person next to us doesn’t. Believing in oneself and capabilities and being proud will eventually have others doing the same thing, and that love and support are unmatched.
Contact Info:
- Email: britokaitlin@gmail.com
- Website: https://britokaitlin.wixsite.com/portfolio
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kbrito_art/
