ARTIST STATEMENT

Cathy is more than two decades into her “second career”. Her painting studio is in her home.  “After becoming a parent, I had the opportunity to return to university and study art.  For me, painting pushed all the buttons.  Upon graduation, painting, drawing and the exploration with various media offer a creative freedom I have not found in other endeavors while at the same time providing an endless journey toward an unknown destination – a true reflection of life.  Most of what we need to accomplish each day calls for us to be precise with few to no mistakes.  The way I need to paint opens a pathway of freedom and discovery.  There is a myriad of decisions, but no exacting specifics.    

When I start a painting, I apply a mark or color to the canvas with physicality and energy.  Gesture or movement provides the emotion to the canvas.  Gesture is life, vitality, personality, and character.  If the initial notes ring true, each subsequent mark or color adds truth and resonance.  I really must look and let the painting tell me what to do.  I am pursuing a more immediate process in the way I now paint.  I am trying to hold onto each mark…waiting and looking before acting – trying to make sure it adds and doesn’t detract to the overall cohesion.

Colors are formed by decisions, but they are not givens.  They are found intuitively through the process of comparing them as they are applied.  Painting is a language that operates on relationships.  This process takes a lot of looking and listening to the painting; looking holistically at a painting and not rushing to add another mark or color.

The asymmetry that is inherent in the way I paint helps reflect the beauty of non-perfection.  It mirrors the way we all must navigate life.  Life is mystery, most of which is hard to understand.  Struggle provides growth and with growth comes a certain degree of harmony, which constantly needs to be challenged in a positive manner.

It is important to me to not be overly concerned with results.  I learn and am striving within the process.  My goal is to try to create a beautiful painting that the viewer can enter over and over and still find life and resolution on the picture plane.  Ultimately, I’m trying to grasp the sheer potential of paint and color to be transcendent.