ARTIST STATEMENT
"I paint my own reality. The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration." - Frida Kahlo
I am a painter. My canvas and I share a wonderful relationship. It is my belief that each and every canvas comes with it's own personality as well as its own desire to be something magnificent. The openness and emptiness of the canvas allows me to express myself; it permits me to share all that I find beautiful and provocative in life. I like to recapture the timeless beauty of decorative wares and/or fruit in a still life setting, or portray the subtle elegance of an orchid, or make a bold statement in collage. The subjects I paint are very familiar to me and capturing them on the canvas is like meeting an old friend on the street.
I am a painter. I am inspired by many painters who have come before me, most notably Georgia O'Keeffe for her ability to depict the waves of color in the smallest of objects. Salvador Dali inspires me with his unique compositional qualities as well as his brazen expression of subjects that are most often overlooked in our daily lives. Rene Magritte impacts me with his painting precision and use of realistic colors in unrealistic settings. He has the ability to make the surreal look real by painting photorealistic objects within an unrealistic setting. I am also, like these artists, creatively inspired by objects and occurrences within our everyday society.
I am a painter. I look forward to discovering what my empty canvas longs to be. I need to feel the creaminess of my oil paints when I place the brush onto that open canvas. It is when painting that I am happiest and most comfortable with being the painter that I am.
- Catie Barron
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