Cover Artist - Katie Rose McConnell

The Illustrated Life of Katie Rose McConnell

Written By: Erin M. Cowser; Photo Credit: Sydney Johnson & Katie Rose McConnell

As Katie Rose McConnell enters the next chapter of her life, it will be beautifully illustrated.

The Northshore resident and talented artist has had a lot of new developments lately, which isn’t surprising given her openness to new challenges and experiences. Recently, she’s taken on roles as a new wife, stepmother, and soon-to-be mother.

Over the years, she’s successfully explored a variety of professional fields, including politics, healthcare, education, finance, fundraising, advertising, and marketing. Her work has taken her from Chicago to Washington, D.C., and from Houston to Huntsville.

“Next thing you know, I’m back home, dating ‘that cute boy’ I knew from St. Paul’s, and teaching at my alma mater, SSA,” says McConnell, who has been married to Parker McConnell since November.

Currently, she brings her marketing and promotional expertise to the Southern Hotel.

“Working here and walking these hallways every day is truly an inspiration,” she says. “Lisa (Condrey Ward) is a curator of art, and these walls are a gallery themselves.”

Katie Rose may downplay her skills, claiming she isn’t a “real artist,” but others would disagree. She’s been commissioned for corporate art installations and public murals. Her artwork appears on stationery, and her prints are sold at deCoeur in downtown Covington. She’s also working on a line of wrapping paper for the upcoming holiday season. Her artwork adorns invitations to any variety of social engagements – weddings, showers, parties, soirees and fetes at venues as far away as a chateau in France and a castle in Italy. Her most distant clients hail from Fiji.

If you’ve dined at Antoine’s recently, you’ve seen her work on the cover of their new menus. Images she created for Touro’s NICU are still used when families celebrate milestones such as “first time holding baby,” “first time feeding baby,” and “first time reading to baby.” She even invented a jazz band of Louisiana swamp critters that welcome patients at Children’s Hospital in New Orleans. Her work with Camellia Red Beans resulted in a Warhol-esque campaign, adding her own unique touch to a Southern staple.

Despite her many projects, Katie Rose is committed to ensuring her art remains a source of joy, not work. With a full-time focus on family and career, she’s learned to balance her artistic passion.

“I want to keep it in the ‘hobby zone.’ I’ve had to learn to hit pause when my plate is full. I’ve also had to say no to things that aren’t in my wheelhouse,” she says with a grin, mentioning a rather risqué portrait request.

Katie Rose’s use of watercolors is akin to raising your hands on a roller coaster in order to fully enjoy the ride. She started honing her skill with oil painting in high school at which time she thoroughly enjoyed “making a big ole mess with paints.” After earning a master’s degree in educational policy and leadership studies, she transitioned to watercolors as a young professional living in smaller spaces, since they require less room for setup and storage. But it wasn’t without some trepidation and hesitation.

In fact, the free-fall of painting with watercolors was a terrifying prospect at first. “You have to trust that the water, pigments, and brush will take you where you need to go,” she says. “Unlike oils, you only get one shot. You can’t just keep layering until it’s perfect. You have to let go and let the water guide you.”

Her method of surrendering to the unpredictability of watercolors mirrors her approach to life. Over time, she not only mastered the medium but discovered the joy it brought her.

“At one point I thought I wanted to be an architect. I learned the rules and regiments of lines and angles,” she says. “I also learned I didn’t want to be an architect. There was a little too much control involved. I needed more creativity.”

Her understanding of vanishing points still helps her when sketching designs. As she flips through her box of sketches, she pulls out works by her stepson, also named Parker, showing the shared artistic talent and close relationship between the two.

While her art is diverse—portraits, building sketches, landscapes—her initial designs always feature color swatches and smaller sketches around the borders.

“There’s always something in the periphery. Scribbles, dots and dabs of color to see how they blend. Lots of things going on outside of what you’ll see in the frame,” she says. “I guess that’s true for life, too, isn’t it?”

Katie Rose prefers textured paper, finding its grooves perfect for watercolor. “It has a playfulness,” she says. “I’ve learned to let the water create its own boundaries.”

But it’s more than just the form and shape of design on paper that makes Katie Rose’s art so inviting. She puts tremendous creative energy toward the concept so that her art brings forth the intended message. She points to a commission by a surgeon in Georgia who wanted something to represent his life’s work.

“How do I make a skeleton look non-gruesome?” she recalls asking herself. “Healthcare is beautiful, and I needed to find a way to show that.” She succeeded, and did so remarkably well. The doctor was thrilled with the piece she created.

Her experience in healthcare, including volunteering at Huntsville Hospital in Alabama, likely contributed to her success. At the hospital, she spent time with families in the ICU waiting area, learning the beauty of giving back from her mentor, Candy Burnett, president of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation.

“I would make sure the coffee was hot and just be there,” she says. “When in that room people have no control over anything that’s happening. I’m hopeful that my being there helped in some small way.”

Now a member of the Hope House board and president of the SSA Alumni board, Katie Rose can’t imagine not being involved in her local community.

She credits many female mentors, including Gretchen Armbruster, a Covington artist who helped her overcome creative blocks. “Gretchen is such a pure talent,” she says. “She has a true gift for helping you work through artistic blocks.”

But it was her mother, Lisette, who served as her first role model. “She was VP of marketing at Iberia Savings Bank, wearing power suits and heels,” Katie Rose recalls. “After school, she’d let me sit at her big desk with a tin of colored pencils. Every color!”

Despite her busy schedule, her mom always made time for their doodle sessions. “Sometimes, when I’m sketching, I catch my breath because it looks exactly like my mom’s work,” she says. “Her creative spirit flows through me.”

These days, Katie Rose’s creative spirit often flows at the kitchen table, with her long-haired Dachshund, Reba, by her side. “It’s not glamorous, but it usually involves Spotify, a cup of tea, and a lit candle,” she laughs.

For Katie Rose, art is a source of peace. Whether drawing nature, designing for a fundraiser, or celebrating life events like baby announcements, she pours her heart into every piece. She especially loves personal touches, like a family crest she designed featuring each grandchild’s favorite ice cream flavor.

“As an artist, I get to say yes to what fills my heart,” she says with a smile. “The best part is, I get to enjoy this new chapter of my life while doing it.”