Kennedy Hudson: Meet the Artist
I’m Kennedy, and I am an artist born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Through a combination of hard-work and an amazing family and support system, I have been living my dream- owning and operating Lunar Ink- Tattoos in GR for a little over two years now. Art has always been my number one passion, but now takes a happy second place to our beautiful 2-and-a-half-year-old who is WAY more interesting than I am! I create art in hopes that it brings people the same happiness I feel while doing it.
Q: How did you get involved with Lions and Rabbits?
A: I actually saw a post on Facebook looking for artists for Storm Drains 2022. I was kind of envious of those already participating in the huge mural art movement in GR and was thrilled to be included!
Q: Run us through your creative process: Medium? How do you start, flow and finish?
A: Most of the time, in my professional work, I start with the question of what my client wants this piece to represent. I really try to visualize what the most important, focal point of the piece is going to be and where I want that to lay on my canvas, and then I go from there. A majority of my work is meant to be tattooed so the placement and sizing of specific imagery is sometimes the most important part. I think this translates really well to mural art because in a lot of statement pieces 'how' you represent an image can sometimes be more important than the image itself. My personal work, on the other hand, is much more sporadic and very rarely follows the same theme- other than a very obvious use of bright colors, bold lines, and lots of sparkle!
Q: What themes/ideas are highlighted in your work? Intentions?
A: As a tattooist, usually my client brings me the "theme" and I create the imagery to match whatever that theme is. This has also taught me that there can be so many different take-aways to any one specific image, and even more emotion. I'm a little more selfish with my personal work and don't usually think about what is going to market higher or what other people are going to think about it, I just make what makes me happy and hope other people get some of those same feelings.
After Dark 2022 located at New City Neighbors. Grand Rapids, MI
Q: Can you share more about how your career as an artist began?
A: I have been an artist my whole life. Anyone can be an artist. I strongly believe that. Art is imagery with a feeling. It's hard work and determination and opportunity that make art make money, and that can take a lot of time. I was born with a passion for art, but my career began shortly after I graduated high school. I thought I'd pick up tattooing as a way to put myself through college. Long story short, the professional route to tattooing is a much longer journey than I had anticipated and was school all in its own. It's where I found myself the most passionate, and the direction I chose to follow for my life.
Q: What mistakes have you made? What obstacles have you encountered throughout your career as an artist?
A: The first real fear I had was that I would not be able to make a living as an artist. I always knew that was where my heart was, but the phrase "starving artist" didn't come from nowhere. It can still be intimidating, but that's also part of the thrill of it. I still deal with some self-esteem issues as an artist, too. I think a lot of us do, because there are a lot of artists out there, and in our world, you have to make money. Sometimes it can be a hard line finding that competitive edge and not being caught up in who's better than who.
Q: Who/what are your biggest inspirations that play a key role in your work?
A: I take a majority of my inspiration for my personal work from the world around me. Maybe its's some goofy thing that came up in conversation, or something one of my daughter's cartoons reminded me of. Or flowers. I draw a ton of flowers! When it comes to my professional work, it's my clients themselves! Usually, they already have pretty strong feelings about whatever imagery they are presenting to me or asking me to create, and I usually try to play off of whatever that feeling is.
Q: Do you feel supported by your community as an artist? In what ways could you feel more supported?
A: In the beginning I definitely had to look for that support a little harder, but within the past few years I think it is starting to feel a little more natural within the community. I do think that art is generally starting to get more coverage and the art community is beginning to have more of a voice, and I think that has a lot to do with groups like LRCFA, and I'm happy to have been able to be a part of this movement, and also to get a chance to watch it happen. I don't know what my daughter is going to want to be when she grows up, but I am thrilled at all of the opportunities our city will have to offer.
Q: What is the function of artists in society? What does being an artist mean to you?
A: This is a hard question, and an easy one at the same time. I don't think artists have one specific function in society, except to provoke a feeling in others. I've had this conversation with lots of clients in my chair, and I guess it is kind of controversial, but I believe that all tattoos have meaning. Even the "I-want-it-so-I-got-it" tattoos- that is the meaning. That imagery, that script, that piece of art, evoked a feeling in you deep enough that you wanted to see it for the rest of your life. That feeling is what, in my opinion, is most important about art, about artists, and it's up there on my favorite parts of my job!
Storm Drains 2022
Q: Describe a moment when you felt most proud of yourself
A: Another hard one! I was very proud of myself for completing my tattoo apprenticeship and becoming a professional tattoo artist, and then for opening my tattoo studio a few years later, while our daughter was two months old! The first time I was ever really away from her was for my pre-opening health inspection and I cried about both things before, and then cried tears of pride when it was over with!
Q: What are you currently working on or looking forward to?
A: I'm not quite sure yet! I am currently very happy with what I do and am very grateful to get to work as an artist every day. That being said, I am always on the lookout for new opportunities!
Q: BONUS: If you could chose any superpower, what would it be?🦸🏻♀️⚡️🌀
A: If I could have any superpower, it would be to teleport, so I don't have to worry about being late!
Follow more of Kennedy’s work on facebook
Thank you for checking out this week’s Meet the Artist, be sure to checkout more artist stories dropping weekly on our blog!
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