Catherine Stevenson - Artist

My still life and landscape paintings draw inspiration from the art of presentation and display; the focused illumination and interplay of light and shade in a theatrical stage set or a spotlit exhibit in a museum cabinet. I love the still life paintings of Paul Gauguin, Suzanne Valadon and Victoria Crowe, the mysterious interiors of James Pryde and Andrew Wyeth, and the dramatic and colourful scenes of Indian Mughal painting and Japanese prints. These influences are expressed in my use of strong shadows, bold colour schemes, and juxtapositions of realism and stylisation.

At Edinburgh Art College I studied fine art and printmaking and after an enjoyable and stimulating career in teaching, I retired early to concentrate on my own work.

Exhibitions

• Torrance Gallery, Edinburgh Festival exhibition (2020)
• Society of Women Artists (2021)
• Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (2021)
• Aberdeen Artists Society (2022)
• Scottish Arts Club. Solo exhibition (2022)
• Scottish Portrait Awards. Long list (2023)
• Scottish Arts Club. Joint exhibition (2023)

I am one of four artists who contributed watercolour paintings to the book ‘A Sketchbook of Edinburgh’, first published by Birlinn 2017 and reprinted in 2019.