Meet Cate Kennedy | Illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cate Kennedy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cate, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
Oddly, one of my favorite mantras comes from a parenting book (Mom’s On Call – a lifesaver in sleep training, by the way). But it applies to so much more than caring for an infant. I’m paraphrasing here, but it’s, “Are you making this decision out of truth or out of fear?” I think about that all the time. Am I avoiding sending my work to this art director out of truth (this is the only way they will know what I do) or out of fear (my work isn’t good enough, and they’ll hate it)? The answer always becomes clear when I look at things through this lens.

Also “just keep drawing.” I’m not really sure where this came from. Maybe I merely repurposed Dory’s “just keep swimming” for myself? In any case, I repeat this to myself every time I start spiraling into the dark place (you know … the one often triggered by comparing your work to others’ where you think you are devoid of skill and creativity and maybe even soul). The only solution, every time, is to just keep drawing.

And finally, when I’m holding on too tightly to the status quo, afraid to take a step forward, I ask myself, what’s the worst that could happen? It’s usually not that bad. It’s good I’m not a doctor.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I got into illustration for a very simple reason — drawing and painting is one of the few things that never feels like a waste of time to me. If I spend an entire day drawing, that day is a success, even if the drawing is not.

I love drawing and painting kids, animals, nature, food, and whimsical scenes. The tactile experience of paper and paint and other mark-making tools just makes me happy. But I also love working digitally on top of a traditional piece — the risks you can take there are unparalleled.

I’m still at the beginning of this illustration path, but I got here by taking a big risk and switching careers. I had been in the design industry, and I loved that and was really happy there for a long time. I just always had this itch, this thing I wanted to do that I was too scared to try, and I didn’t think I knew how to do it. But finally I realized that my design career had taught me a lot of what I needed to know already and that ultimately the only way to know if illustration could work for me was to actually, you know, try. So one of the biggest things I’ve learned was that sometimes you have to take big risks, and it’s really scary. You’re risking failure and maybe embarrassment, depending on your personality. These were big hurdles for me, personally, to overcome.

Moving forward there are still so many challenges. There are a lot of incredibly talented illustrators out there. It’s so easy to get caught up looking at their work and feeling like you are not as good. You’re not good enough and how could you possibly make it? And you just have to keep going anyway. Illustration to me has been a little bit like a sandwich. I think I make a pretty mean sandwich, but if someone else makes me the same exact sandwich, I like it better. There’s just a little bit of mystery there. Whereas if I make it I know exactly what went into it. This is really not fair to myself — it’s the same sandwich! Some people gravitate toward sports metaphors, but a good food metaphor always does it for me.

Anyway, I still have a lot to learn, but I’m excited about that. I think that ultimately, a day spent making art is so satisfying to me because it is a day spent learning. If I can spend most of my days learning, that will be a good life.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Lately when people ask me what to do in Atlanta, I feel my brain recede into its turtle shell. Since having a child and going through the pandemic, I’ve lost track of all the cool things (I swear I used to know.. I swear). But I’ll pry my parent-goggles off my bloodshot eyes and flattened out curls and get to work. This “best time ever” means there are no lines anywhere, right? Yes, of course it does. Ok, we’re off to Bagel Buggy in Chamblee for coffee and uh, bagels. Afterwards, we’re going thrifting in the same area. We’ll walk around to the half a dozen or more stores over there, and once we’re feeling ready for a rest, we’ll eat some lunch at Gus’s hot chicken or, if it’s nice outside, we’ll eat at one of the other many options around there with a patio.

After lunch, we’d come back home for some more patio sitting and afternoon refreshments. Maybe a quick and satisfying gardening project? I’m assuming it’s one of those delightful Atlanta spring days before the mosquitos have come out, and no day is perfect without getting one’s hands a little dirty.

By early evening we’ll be hungry again, so we’ll head back out for dinner at LanZhou on Buford Highway, where we will definitely order way too much. Despite our huge bag of leftovers, we will waddle over to the ice cream place at the end of the shopping center and not share ice cream sundaes (they’re sharing size, but who can agree on a flavor?). By that time, it’ll be midnight (read: 7pm), and we’ll be ready to pajamify and drink wine back home on the patio while watching the bats come out.

Wow, I’m so glad you asked me this. I love my own answer — that’s the idea right? Now I have to figure out when I can make this happen.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Kevin Lo (my husband) for so much that it would be impossible to list it all here. My brother, Will, for his positivity and support. Ivy McLeod, who always has sound advice and freely shares any resources that she can think to share. Kelly Strawinski for the endless conversation and validation. Amy Kosloske and Heidi Williams, who act as my critique group, which they did not necessarily sign up for, but their eye for design is invaluable. And this feels wild since I’ve never met her, but Vanessa Stoilova’s YouTube content and her art business bootcamps have played a huge role in my life in the last year. And no shoutout of mine would be complete without mentioning my parents, who never gave the side eye to any of my decisions, which is saying a lot.

Website: catekennedy.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catekennedy_illustration/

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/cate-kennedy-21a0ba26

Image Credits
Photo by Kelly Strawinski Illustrations by Cate Kennedy