Kathleen Steegmans

Hello, I’m Kathleen, and I create vibrant artwork with a vintage, glamourous touch to inspire and motivate my clients to live their best life.

My work often portrays women who want to seduce the viewer into getting to know them and their stories. Through the frequent use of gold and blue, two intense colors to which both spiritual and worldly qualities are associated, ‘my girls’ ask to be seen. The bigger-than-life characters result in artwork that feels familiar and strange at once.

In 1998, I graduated as a Master of Fine Arts, but I didn’t feel I had what it takes to become an artist. In my mind, only extraordinary people with superpower qualities could become artists. And that wasn’t me…  In the following years, I worked in various functions, trained to be a graphic designer, and made artwork for the Belgian band SilverJunkie.

In 2011, I started a creative agency, MIST, with my partner. We offered graphic design, photography, and video services to B2B clients. We didn’t know anything about running a business, so it was a great learning experience with lots of ups and downs, but I am so delighted that we decided to quit our jobs and ‘give it a go.’

After losing my parents and getting into personal development, I realized I wasn’t doing what I was meant to do. I liked working for clients but missed exploring my own ideas. I noticed I was getting jealous of professional artists, and slowly it dawned on me that I had learned the skills I needed to sell and promote my artwork. In 2018 I gradually stopped working for clients and went back to creating art.

I’m now working full-time as an independent artist in Antwerp, Belgium. At age 45, I feel like I’m finally learning how to play this fantastic game called life, and I love it.

Next to creating art, I love connecting with different kinds of people to hear their stories. In 2019 I organized a pop-up gallery with weekly changing guest artists. This experience brought me so much joy, and I feel like it’s the perfect addition to my art practice since I find lots of inspiration in conversations with others.

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