Katie's Story

Katie Peña is a fine artist in Raleigh, North Carolina, specializing in oil portraits, murals, and fine art paintings. She began her career as a painter during her teen years, when she explored oil painting and accepted commissions. She used her earnings in part to pay for her college degree in Fine Arts at the Rhode Island School of Design.

 

She is inspired by vibrant color, flora and fauna, mythology and fantasy. She is also driven by explorations into new media and styles, such as fluid resin poured abstract paintings. She looks forward to more opportunities to apply her creative insights to additional colorful media such as stained glass making, while continuing to exercise her first passion for painting. 

 

For more than a decade, Katie has lent her skills to the Hollywood, CA film industry, where she built a successful career as a Scenic Painter on numerous award-winning television shows, commercials and movies. In 2015, Katie joined the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees union (IATSE), where she became a Local 44 Southern California Set Dresser in the Set Decoration department. She has remained a proud IATSE union member ever since. 

 

In 2023, Katie transitioned away from the film industry to embark on a new chapter in her career, relocating to North Carolina. She is incredibly grateful to put down roots in a state that not only welcomes, cherishes, and celebrates local art, but also fosters and embraces the value that visual art can bring to the community.