Catherine Holland

Most of my inspiration comes from bicycle or motorbike rides, out in the countryside, where I see things that delight me, a mixture of skyscape and landscape, light, colours and a little intrigue. I take some photographs to work from, as I like to include lots of detail. Sometimes several pieces come from one experience.
I have always admired Turner’s work for the depiction of light, but it was being introduced to David Hockney’s work that gave me permission to be as colourful as I am. The combination of this and discovering Sennelier oil pastels, meant that I began to produce work that I was really pleased with. I love the fact that they are like working with oil paint, and that each colour has its own texture. You can use a brush if you dilute them, but I prefer to blend them with a piece of wood on the paper, and then scrape or scratch, with a palette knife, where minute detail is needed. I can easily alter what I have drawn, and if I plan ahead, I can make strokes with one colour, overlay it, and then reveal it by scraping off the top layer to create lighter detail underneath. So I am in fact, drawing with oils.
My aim is to show detail in every area, so that wherever the viewer gazes they can see detail in the picture. Unli...

Some formal training and an HND but mostly a lifetime of daily practice.

Purple Gallery Bournville Spring and Autumn exhibitions 2021
Xanadu Gallery Art Catalogue entry September 2021