Cathy is a contemporary artist and lives in Gwelup, Perth, Western Australia. She enjoys learning new techniques on a continual basis and blending them into her art practice.
Cathy is continually inspired by natures patterns, shapes, shadows, sound & stillness. Her process begins with her daily walks with her dog, photographing inspiring shapes, patterns and textures. She then goes through her photos and sketches from her collection. once she captures the essence of nature, she discards the photos. From here she will decide on a painting OR a pattern OR digital art. This can be done over a couple of days or a few weeks. Within Nature's settings, Cathy finds peace, calm and hears the whispers of nature. she receives messages and guidance and follows this guidance. trusting her intuition she paints. Not every piece will paint smoothly and coherently. There are struggles at times, as pieces may not look like they will be successful. But the same as in life, the fact that we have the courage to show up each day, enables us to work through this current struggle and persistence often pays off. One can see the final piece has come through - often unexpected but very much a worthwhile piece.
In 2018, Catherine decided to fulfil a desire to expand her knowledge of art and study Fine Arts at tertiary level. She went in with a strong desire to master the art of painting. Searching for Old Masters painting techniques, were not found at ECU. She side stepped into printmaking & glass art to complete her degree. She knew once she left university that she had to find the missing links for painting as her intuition was strong....she had to return to painting.
Cathy's painting practice begins with a ritual - using sage to clear the energy of her painting studio and the canvas itself. Uses crystals and infuses canvas with white light energy. Her paintings begin as abstract pieces, where she plays with paint, water & gravity, while changing the direction of the canvas often, to enhance the 'no control' beginning. Using a variety of techniques and listening to a variety of music - usually focusing on one piece of music for one painting until complete.
EDUCATION:
Diploma in Costume Design and Construction, WAAPA 1986
Bachelor in Contemporary Arts 2020
Immersion Graduate, 2021 [Online Surface Pattern Design School, USA]
Immersion Graduate, 2023 [Online Surface Pattern Design School, USA]
EXHIBITIONS:
Between The Sheets, Interwoven: Artists book, 2020
Gradshow, Interlaced, ECU, 2020