Katie B Temple is all too familiar with boxing up cherished memories and bidding farewell to once-familiar walls. The mixed-media artist, whose paintings of homes reflect the universal search for belonging, also understands the bittersweet nostalgia for a place you’ve never been to, skillfully depicting the emotion in her art.
Temple’s youthful, nomadic spirit has seen her transition among 17 different living spaces throughout her life. “People think I must have been in a military family, but I wasn’t,” Temple laughed. “So much of who I am as a person and as an artist is built on the places I’ve lived.”
Raised in a rural generational farmhouse, she embarked on a journey at 18, moving between dormitories, summer houses, and several states. She found herself in Omaha in 2015—a fresh start in a city brimming with potential, marked by her debut solo show at the W. Dale Clark library. There, she showcased paintings for the first time of the 14 places she called home before Omaha—locations she had lived, loved, and left behind.
Today, her preferred subject matter centers around depicting vacant homes for rent or sale in Omaha. She often selects homes listed on Zillow she can see herself living in, drawn to their location, color, character, or even their mailbox.
“These are temporarily empty homes, which intrigues me,” Temple explained. “They’re just vacant shells that once contained a bustling family. I’ve been in the same house now for six or seven years; thankfully, I don’t feel nomadic anymore—but I still choose houses that are.”
Now deeply integrated into Omaha, Temple offers commissioned portraits, allowing individuals to immortalize their homes in her distinctive style. She recalled one client whose eyes sparkled as she reminisced about a particular bush that once adorned the front of her childhood home—one she walked past daily on her way home from the bus. Naturally, Temple incorporated it into the painting.
By day, Temple serves as Program Director at Completely KIDS, where she creates safe spaces and offers support to youth and families, mirroring the themes that permeate her artwork. Her commissioned pieces for organizations like Habitat for Humanity Omaha and the Omaha Community Foundation deepen this fusion of art and community.
Temple is represented by Anderson O’Brien Fine Art Gallery, which she credits for providing her with much of her clientele, as the gallery provides access to clients who may already be seasoned art buyers. She recently completed a four-by-three-foot commission of a local architect’s childhood farm that now sits in his modern downtown condo.
She remains an active exhibitor across the city, notably in Benson, ensuring the art is still as accessible as the universal themes she portrays—to her, the heart of these paintings lies in the conversations they inspire.
“For a buyer to grace their home with my piece is the biggest honor,” Temple said, “but when someone views my art in a gallery and a particular piece resembles a place they used to live in, or their neighbor’s house, it brings up really cool memories.”
Now, she’s working on a new series—an exploration of ‘toy homes.’ Inspired by her son’s creations with Lego blocks, Tinker Toys, and Lincoln Logs, Temple decided to paint the tiny vessels he was building. “The first thing every kid creates is a house, and my children are growing up and starting to think about where they live,” she said. “It’s been a lot of fun to incorporate ‘home’ in a more playful way.”
Happily raising her growing family in Omaha, Temple has decided that there is, indeed, no place like home.
“I’ve always asked, ‘What makes a home?'” she reflected. “Now, as I look at my family, I ask, ‘How does this home provide a feeling of comfort, safety, and permanence?’ That’s what my art is about now.”
For more information, visit katiebtemple.com.
This article originally appeared in the July/August 2024 issue of Omaha Home Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
