Silver Birches after Rain Painting

Cath Stocker is a Visual Artist and Curator living and working in West Wales, UK. Originally from Buckinghamshire, Cath studied at Amersham College of Art & Design and Leeds Beckett University, graduating with a B.A. (Hons) in Fine Art. Cath has exhibited extensively across the UK and as far afield as Finland and Austria. “Taking risks, challenging processes and experimenting with different materials are some of the essential things that drive me. I create work in 2 and 3D. I am inspired by a broad spectrum of artists starting with my 5 times Great Grand Father, Rev. William Gilpin, founder of the Picturesque Movement, for his drawings, paintings, writings and travels around Britain and for leading concepts of landscape appreciation and conservation, culminating in the preservation of protected landscapes. His ideas have had a lasting effect on how we have now come to view the landscape. In the 1870s, through his tours of Britain, he gave travellers a new sense of regionalism, in which he taught people how to analyse scenery 'relative to picturesque beauty' and it is through his lens and writings that I am empowered to consider composition in my own work.” I also find inspiration from painters such as American Abstract Expressionist, Hans Hofmann, who held a strong conviction about the spiritual and social value of art. This is a conviction I also share and use to galvanise the themes I am working on.”