“Nature is art, in absolute detail. A never ending paradox that tears me from reality. Everything has a spirit, a voice that needs to be listened to. Creativity is my passion. This was the journey of my childhood, as I watched my father create wonderful furniture in wood and observed my mother sewing beautiful garments with fabrics.
When I search for inspiration, I look over the vineyards surrounding my studio in south-west France and ideas engulf me. Dreams evolve into reality, midnight sketches become my driving force. Before my canvas, I see the world through a lens. I’m interested in what escapes me.”
Well if that does not get you hooked to find out more about Cathy’s work nothing will.
Cathy’s works combine the traditional medium of painting with the use of other materials such as string, paper and cloth to create beautiful textured works which are both striking and accessible for the viewer. The nature of the works invite viewers to touch and become involved on many sensory levels.
Cathy’s work was greatly influenced by both her father's cabinet makers skills and by watching her mother's work as a seamstress. She absorbed information about materials such as wood, fabrics, wool and paper, learning about their qualities, which has become a vital influence on her work today.
Her biggest inspiration is nature and organic structures. The textures, patterns and details created by nature are a driving force for her creativity. She remains fascinated by nature as art in absolute detail and strives to engage the viewer through the observation of nature's tiny details.
1.Was there anyone in particular who gave you inspiration?
My inspiration for starting to work with string and other textures came from an exhibition I went to see by Eva Hessa in Vienna, Austria. She didn't live a very long life due to a brain tumor but in the latter part of her life, she started to work with 3 dimensional shapes and forms. She used a lot of string as well as recycled materials. It dawned on me that here I was painting, and here I was making home decorations but if I was to combine all those skills and materials, I could have something truly unique.
My very first textured painting 'logs' was sold at Christies, London. Imagine how pleased I was since this has really just been an experiment. This painting was inspired by being stuck behind a logging truck. The ends of the logs were kind of mesmerizing and this painting just appeared in front of my eyes along that journey.
2.When did you discover your creative talents?
I've been creative really since I was born. Music and art have been my life. Alas it was not encouraged when I was younger so I never really believed I could do this for a living. It wasn't until I was hit by lightning in 2002 that it dawned on my that life really is too short and too fragile to not do what you feel passionate about.
3. Who are your favourite artists of all time?
It has to be Eva Hesse for inspiring me to find a way of working which is really unique and personal to me. O'Keefe also although I did not discover her works until I was already painting botanical subjects.
4. If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?
To not be such a perfectionist. I literally drive myself crazy and I'm never happy with any of my work. This means I lack confidence in showcasing my work and it really holds me back. I'm really trying to just go for it but it's not easy! Ha!
5. Describe yourself in 5 words!
This is quite a difficult question. I don't give myself that much thought. OK, here goes. Creative, musical, sociable, perfectionist, nurturing. I'm sure my partner could think of a few more!
6. What makes you laugh hard?
My partner. Him and I laugh a lot, mostly at the most ridiculous things you can imagine. I'm sure no one else would laugh. We have what we call a 'happy hour' most days, usually after lunch when we sit and chat and it general descends into total nonsense.
Early this year Cathy along with her partner Joe came up with the idea of creating a free platform for all artists. It has been a tremendous success story in a very short period of time and Totalartsoul (TAS) was born http://www.totalartsoul.com and continues to grow, with already 1454 registered members, and last month saw 97750 unique visitors to this site.
Their vision of the platform was to encourage artists to share and expose their works in a personal gallery. Members would have a personal blog space; a gallery to showcase their work, a chat room, a forum and a video upload function. The discussion boards would serve as active halls to grow in the creative process while networking and connecting to international like-minded artists.
Cathy and Joe have written some step-by-step tutorials on how anyone who has to market themselves online can achieve similar results. The tutorials are inexpensive and are also a way to keep Total Art Soul free for its members. You can find them here
http://www.totalartsoul.com/
Cathy is offering a set of 5 off her beautiful note cards value $14, in addition the winner will recieve a $14 gift voucher to spend in my shop
. http://www.etsy.com/shop/Krishenka
How to enter! it's easy, all you have to do is this (Leave your name and a contact address) and your almost done.......
1. Please follow my blog, it’s not mandatory but you know it makes me smile!
2. Please visit Cathy’s shop and drool for a few moments, all hearts are welcome.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/cathysavelspaintings
3. Cathy is also offering a generous 10% discount on any item from her shop, so if you would like to make a purchase, just add Krish in the buyers message to her, and she will adjust the price.
4. You can enter as many times as you like.
6. This giveaway is open worldwide and will close on the 29th Oct.
Finally a huge thank you Cathy for sharing your beautiful work and along with everyone else wish you continued success and happiness.
Lastly I would like to apologise for a technical problem that caused all previous entries to be deleted and I do hope you come back and try again.
