Cathy Lorraway Artist Statement PAC, AOCA, BFA, Bed, BA.
My art is inspired by my love of nature and travel. I combine plein air painting with studio time, using pastels, acrylic and oil to create larger artworks from studies on location. During Covid I came to understand how much art provided comfort and enjoyment. My paintings not only portray my deep love for the natural world and my commitment to environmental conservation but also aim to nourish the spirit by telling the story of the atmosphere and beauty of a place.
I love painting on location or “plein air” using media, like pastels, which vividly portray colour and ambient light patterns which move me emotionally. On location, as I respond to the sights and sounds of nature, I use media and mark making in a gestural, loose way to record my sensory memories: the changing light of cloud patterns, rustling sounds of weaving fields of wildflowers and stunning impact of colourful fall trees. To help my colours sing, I employ complementary underpaintings and coloured grounds.
In the studio, I often enlarge these plein air and reference studies into pastel, oil or acrylic to create landscapes with even more emotional impact and sense of place. There I explore different colour studies and techniques such as impasto to suggest environments rich with natural textures: the crunchy snow footprints, lapping waves and fallen leaves. My paintings are an exciting journey which blend my initial sensory experience on location with my exploration and imagination in the studio.
My painting process and style have been shaped by my studies at the Ontario College of Art Drawing and Painting program (A.O.C.A and BFA), Dundas Valley School of Art and online workshops as well as my experiences as a former high school art and photography teacher. I continue to teach and give workshops at the Oakville Art Society, Dundas Valley School of Art and Port Colborne Art Club as well as volunteer for Burlington Fine Art Association on the Fireside Lounge Juried Show selection committee, past Fireside Lounge Coordinator and past president of Arts Burlington. My work has found homes in Canada and abroad and I have been honoured to participate in many juried shows locally, nationally and internationally, recently earning Pastel Artist Canada Signature status.
My art is inspired by my love of nature and travel. I combine plein air painting with studio time, using pastels, acrylic and oil to create larger artworks from studies on location. During Covid I came to understand how much art provided comfort and enjoyment. My paintings not only portray my deep love for the natural world and my commitment to environmental conservation but also aim to nourish the spirit by telling the story of the atmosphere and beauty of a place.
I love painting on location or “plein air” using media, like pastels, which vividly portray colour and ambient light patterns which move me emotionally. On location, as I respond to the sights and sounds of nature, I use media and mark making in a gestural, loose way to record my sensory memories: the changing light of cloud patterns, rustling sounds of weaving fields of wildflowers and stunning impact of colourful fall trees. To help my colours sing, I employ complementary underpaintings and coloured grounds.
In the studio, I often enlarge these plein air and reference studies into pastel, oil or acrylic to create landscapes with even more emotional impact and sense of place. There I explore different colour studies and techniques such as impasto to suggest environments rich with natural textures: the crunchy snow footprints, lapping waves and fallen leaves. My paintings are an exciting journey which blend my initial sensory experience on location with my exploration and imagination in the studio.
My painting process and style have been shaped by my studies at the Ontario College of Art Drawing and Painting program (A.O.C.A and BFA), Dundas Valley School of Art and online workshops as well as my experiences as a former high school art and photography teacher. I continue to teach and give workshops at the Oakville Art Society, Dundas Valley School of Art and Port Colborne Art Club as well as volunteer for Burlington Fine Art Association on the Fireside Lounge Juried Show selection committee, past Fireside Lounge Coordinator and past president of Arts Burlington. My work has found homes in Canada and abroad and I have been honoured to participate in many juried shows locally, nationally and internationally, recently earning Pastel Artist Canada Signature status.