I create environments that intrigue the viewer. My abstract paintings are covered in expressive marks that engulf the viewer in an engaging experience. In my abstracted environments, one can encounter many shapes that are reminiscent of vegetation, greenery or grasses and flowers. A main influence on my work is the changing of seasons. I am influenced when buds of flowers are blooming in the spring. In the fall I am drawn to the cluster of leaves on the ground decaying beneath our eyes.
I store these visual encounters with nature in memory. In the studio, these memories break down in my mind and unfold into new hybridizations of the natural world. They spark organic shapes, intricate line work, and lush colors. The paintings are filled with leaf-like shapes that grow rapidly through the composition, the ground fills in any cracks and the terrain is sharp and reminiscent of a topographical map. The marks are gestural, fun, meditative, and revolve around building up the layers to create an interesting, and plentiful composition. My color palette can be plush with pastels, or bubbly yellows and beiges, or rusty oxide filled reds with a crisp sap green hue. The creating process of a piece is methodical, as it takes time to complete the layers of paint.
I am interested in exploring atmospheric depth in my work. To me there is something special about getting lost in a landscape receding in space. In the foreground I work on singling more of an exact moment out. The flower petals become crisp with detail, while the deeper in the atmosphere fades into lighter pigment of paint. I am heavily inspired by Helen Frankenthaler’s staining technique with embedding of pigment into the canvas.
I am inspired by how environments work together which makes me ponder the complexity of these systems. These spaces evolve over time, just like a natural landscape through its cycle of seasons. These paintings serve as meditation, for myself and viewers.
Catherine Reitz 