Catherine Tait - Artist

Workshop Program November -2019

Colour, Gesture and Expression Workshops with Catherine Tait. at Naturelab Studio

1083 Fogarty Gap Rd Maldon Ph: 0439705406

Explore the inner creative voice and the expression of self in your painting through colour and gesture

Wednesday 6^th and 13^th November 12.30 pm – 3.30 pm (2 sessions)

The emotion of colour will be discussed and explored in two sessions total

$120 per person limited class of 6 people

Saturday 9^th and 16^th November 1 pm – 4 pm

Gesture, movement, expression and contour drawing will be explored with a live model.

$30 per class limited class of 6 people

Booking is essential as spaces are limited email: sally@artinature.com.au

Artist Statement

I paint with all mediums – watercolours, pastels, mixed media. I use a limited warm palette and that’s related to me – we are all attracted to certain colours. Mine are warm colours: oranges, reds and ultra-marine blue.

For my sculpture, I have used a process known as bronze, lost-wax casting for this exhibition. The process dates to ancient times and it’s basically where a duplicate metal sculpture (in this case bronze) is cast from an original sculpture (wax). I enjoy sculpture as you can see the hand that has made the art – you can see the artist’s fingerprints in the texture.

I paint in several genres: portraits, landscapes, still life and streetscapes. My portraits and still life’s tend to have a human element. For example, my choice of objects are not picked at random; they have the back story of the people who owned them. They have emotion. It’s the same with my portraits – it’s not just someone sitting in a chair. They have a back story, personality and emotions.

I developed into landscapes and streetscapes later in my career, where I attempt to capture the feeling of a place. It could be a shadow in an alley or the unique rock formation on the Flinders Island coast. At the moment, I am reflecting the landscapes that I see around me – the Australian bush, my home and also when travelling overseas.

I find I am very influenced by American artists. I like the directness of portrait painter John Singer Sargent and the mood style of Edward Hopper.

For me, the key to a good painting is not the light but the darkness. If you get the darks right, the lights take care of themselves and it all comes together – that’s the magic of painting