Cathryn Collopy O'Donnell
acrylic, mixed media
Cathryn Collopy O'Donnell works in acrylics, mixed media and collage, and is inspired by the female form and portraiture. Her paintings merge realism with abstraction and tend towards expressive and experimental modes of representation. Her main goal is to connect with the observer, hoping he or she will experience something of the psychology of the female person, her inner life, experiences and dreams. It is likely, however, that what the observer connects to is her own inner life, hopes and points of view; that is, all of the aforementioned of one particular woman at this last stage of her life. Cathryn is an intuitive painter, where a simple idea might initiate a painting and yet evolve or morph into something afield of the original impetus, even something completely different or unexpected. Yet, at this point in her evolution as an artist, one can identify this or that painting as Cathryn’s work – nearly always grounded in color and texture, the use of line, fresh (at least that is what people have remarked to her), and one that does not usually follow the “rules.” Cathryn is fascinated by, and finds inspiration in, the art of these painters: Egon Schiele, El Greco, Goya, Helen Schjerfbeck, Amadeo Modigliani, Harry Alley, Gillian Lee Smith and Emma Petitt. Recently, fashion illustration, both figures and faces, is an avenue of representation catching her attention. For the future, she wants to return to and tackle abstract and non-objective art where she envisions the possibility of energetic brush work, amorphous forms and continued play with color, line and texture.