This Is Why I Paint

NoName Gallery
Jun 11
2 min read

by Kat Collins

I’ve been thinking a lot about why I keep painting.

It’s a question that comes up quietly in the studio — usually when things aren’t going well. When I’m stuck in a piece I can’t figure out. When doubt starts creeping in. When no amount of color or mark-making seems to be enough.

Why paint?Why keep doing this work?What’s the point of all these layers?

And I keep coming back to this answer:

I paint because it’s how I process being alive.

The Studio Is Where I Tell the Truth

Painting is the one place where I don’t have to explain myself. It’s where I can be messy, contradictory, intuitive, and unfinished. It’s where I can say things I don’t have words for. It’s where I can hold questions without needing answers.

In a world that often demands clarity and productivity, painting gives me space to be human.

That’s why I keep showing up.

The Grit & Beauty of It All

Working on the Grit & Beauty series reminded me that the hard parts of life — the tension, the uncertainty, the things we’d rather skip over — are often the places where we grow the most.

The paintings that fought me the hardest ended up teaching me the most.

The layers I was tempted to cover completely became essential to the final piece.

The mistakes, the drips, the rough textures — they’re what give the work its character, its presence, its honesty.

Isn’t that true of life too?

We don’t become who we are despite the hard parts — we become who we are because of them.

What I Hope My Work Offers

When people stand in front of my paintings, I don’t expect them to “get it” in a certain way.

What I hope is that they feel something.

I hope they feel less alone.I hope they feel invited to bring their whole self.I hope they remember that beauty isn’t about perfection — it’s about presence.

The raw, the tender, the unfinished parts of us — they are worth honoring.

That’s what I want my work to say.

And So I Keep Painting

Not because it’s easy.Not because I always know what I’m doing.Not because I have all the answers.

But because this is how I move through the world.

This is how I stay awake to my life.

This is how I hold space for both the grit and the beauty.

Thank you for reading this blog series. Thank you for walking with me through the process, the stories, the layers. I’m so grateful to share this work with you — not just the finished paintings, but the heart behind them.

This is not the end — it’s just another beginning.