Trying to Reach that Itch Painting

Cassie Lawn Walker, a contemporary American artist born in Lewes, Delaware. Walker attended the Art Institute of Philadelphia, studying illustration and graphic design. She graduated in 1992, and worked for many years in Philadelphia, London, England and Los Angeles, as a print, web and animation designer. By 2003, she focused more on painting and began showing regularly. In 2006, Walker was award the Emerging Artist Fellowship from the Delaware Division of the Arts, as well as an honorable mention in 2011, both occasions granting her solo shows at the Division's Mezzanine Gallery in Wilmington. Artist Statement: My paintings explore the quiet tension between innocence and melancholy. Drawing inspiration from vintage portraiture and storybook imagery, I create figures that feel both familiar and otherworldly. Their still gazes and symbolic animal companions invite reflection on vulnerability, solitude, and the subtle complexities of human emotion. Stylistically, my work blends Pop Surrealism, Neo-Folk Art, Neo-Gothic sensibilities, and elements of contemporary figurative painting. I’m drawn to muted palettes, simple compositions, and expressive eyes that suggest unspoken stories. Each piece seeks to capture that suspended moment where tenderness meets unease—where something is slightly off, yet deeply human.