Kaitlin Hennessy doesn’t have an art degree, but she doesn’t need one. All she needs is inspiration and a canvas to create. Wearable canvases are her specialty.
Growing up in Ohio, art always came naturally to Kaitlin and she went her own way exploring painting as her personal outlet and way to add beauty to the world. As a college student at Marshall University in West Virginia, she painted t-shirts for her friends to wear at football games and they were so popular she decided to try shoes. She transformed a pair of plain white sneakers into a spirit gear sensation and her friends went wild. That was the beginning of her business, Katilin Hennessy Art. She went on to paint dozens of greek life t-shirts and other gear until she graduated and relocated to continue her studies in social work.
Kaitlin went to Nashville for graduate school and continued to paint, expanding her collection to denim jackets, totes, and more. She eventually made her way to Louisville by way of Texas, to be closer to family and the University of Louisville Art Therapy Program. Kaitlin’s goal is to work toward earning an art therapy certification that would allow her to combine her love for art and her love for helping people grow through life’s challenges.
“Art is my happy place and outlet for every kind of feeling,” she said. Giving other people the opportunity to process through their experiences using art as a safe way to express themselves when words aren’t working is her dream.
She also loves being able to use her talent to support herself. Kaitlin creates custom pet portraits through Chuys.com, teaches remote painting classes through Lessons.com, frequents festivals and fairs sharing her spirit gear and other creations, and just opened her own out of home studio in Mellwood Art & Entertainment Center!
The first thing she did after transferring her materials to the concrete studio space was liven it up with an impressionist style nighttime city skyline mural of Louisville. She painted it spontaneously in one sitting, with her dog Tito supervising. The golden retriever/yellow lab mix is her full time assistant and official greeter in the studio space.
She is working hard to share her spirit gear with the Louisville community and welcomes any requests for painted apparel. Any team, collegiate or professional, or other fandom you’re into can be translated onto jackets, cloth shoes of any kind, totes, canvas, wall murals, and the list goes on! From Harley Davisdon to Disney, Kaitlin has crafted awesome apparel and custom home art for hundreds of happy clients!
Interested in scoring some spirit gear, custom portrait or other original work from Kaitlin? You can contact her at kaitlinhennessyart@gmail.com and check out her ever-growing portfolio on Instagram and Etsy! We love meeting creators who provide fun affordable ways to make art part of our daily lives and can’t wait to rock some Card kicks at the tailgate!
