Artist Bio - Catherine Jeffrey

Resume

I have been involved in art for as long as I can remember. I received my first oil paints at age 12 and sold my first painting at age 15. Doing and living art is what I do..not from a conscious desire to be an artist, but from an innate sense of knowing that I need to do it. I studied Fine Art at the University of Alberta. The daughter of an Air Force Captain, I moved extensively and finally settled in the beautiful Dundas Valley near Hamilton, Ontario.

My inspiration comes from what I see around me, being particularly drawn to old buildings, architecture, urban scenes, and everyday activities of regular people. I enjoy how familiar scenes are transformed by a mood of weather or a play of light. These moments in time turn the ordinary into a visual and emotional experience which I hope to capture and share with the viewer.

I spent several years operating an art business, selling small realistic acrylic paintings at the One of a Kind Show in Toronto and at various art galleries and art tours. I have now turned my attention to painting in oils and learning and growing as an artist. My focus is painting alla prima , incorporating looser more expressive brush work, with an accent on limited yet dramatic values. As I develop I want to lean towards more abstraction of representational subjects while still capturing the essence of the scene.

Previous awards and shows

1986 Honourable Mention, Chuddleigh’s Art Show juried by Robert Bateman and Glen Loates

1992 4^th Place, Women’s Art Association, Art Gallery of Hamilton

1994 Solo Show, Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington Ontario

1995 Art Gallery of Hamilton Gift Shop and Art Rental. Show and sale of paintings

1995-2005 One of A Kind Show, Toronto. Show and sale of paintings