About Kathy

    ARTIST STATEMENT

My art is abstract expressionist – loose brushstrokes, vibrant colours that work together, and a focus on how the paint feels. I try to capture the spirit of nature, not just copy it exactly. I want the energy and emotion to come through.

Growing up, I was always touching everything!  I loved feeling different textures, and that still drives my art. I start by sketching, writing down words, and playing with colour to capture what I see, hear, and feel. It's more about suggesting an idea than making a perfect copy.

Sounds and words are significant to me. I often write things on the canvas before I even start painting – notes about where I was, and what I was thinking, smelling, feeling.  They're part of the process even if you can't see them later.

I build up layers of paint, then scrape them back, revealing what was underneath. It's like a constant back and forth, and it can take days, weeks, or even months. The final painting isn't just about the subject; it's a piece of myself too.

ARTIST BIO

Cathryn Nettles intimately gets to know the landscapes she explores in paint. Once a place has got under her skin, she will return, learning the landscape through multiple, spirited charcoal drawings. Her canvases and boards are prepped not only with underpainting but an undercurrent of words. Language is as important as paint to Nettles, and she uses it as another way to capture how she feels in the landscape. ‘Words activate the canvas. They link my thoughts and the landscape, like hidden prayers.’  For the words will be obliterated eventually, a mixture of oils, crayons and pastels flowing over them. Nettles is physical and tactile with her canvas, using her hands to move the paint, learning the painting as she does the landscape, with movement and touch From 2018 - 2023 Cathryn attended painting courses and developed her artistic voice at the prestigious Newlyn School of Art, Cornwall, including the Professional Landscape Mentoring year-long course.  Also attending courses in Cornwall led by Ashley Hanson.

Exhibitions

‘Cornwall, Colour and Coast’, Henley on Thames, UK (2018).

'Edge of Land and Sea' Shire Hall, Bodmin, Devon, 25th May - 17th June 2019.  (Group exhibition with Eliza Aspinall and Belinda Garner).

Grand Living Realty Art Show, Palm Coast Florida, (2021).

Devon Open Studio Tour, Devon, UK (2021).

‘Cornwall, Colour and Coast’, Henley on Thames, UK (2021).

'Autumn: My Horses in the Landscape'.  Solo Exhibition at The Castle, Bude, UK

Nov/Dec 2022.Bath Art Fair, Bath,

UK (2023)'Wild Earth'  Group Show, Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens. UK. 23rd - 25th June 2023.

Solo exhibition/event, Coombe Park, Mare and Foal Sanctuary.  UK. 21st June 2023.​

Sussex Art Fair, Goodwood, UK. 10th - 12th May 2024

Artizan Gallery, Torquay, UK. 17th September - 16th October 2024 (Group exhibition with Jane Hirst and Ali Hirst)