About | Animal Art House

Catherin with her beloved horses... Trinity and Melody

Art and animals have always been a major part of Catherin's life . As a child she thought everybody was horse mad and liked to draw. Her love of animals was fostered visiting her Grandfathers dairy farm where she enjoyed playing with the farm dogs, riding the poddy calves with her cousins and badgering everybody to let her go horse riding.

It wasn't until a teenager that Catherin owned her first horse a 1/2 cross quarter horse call Bimbo and her beloved blue cattle dog Kelly. Having her own animals around to draw saw even more frenzied artistic creations.

For a number of years Catherin put drawing on the back board concentration on breeding and showing appaloosa horses until children arrived on the scene. This is when she started to draw again creating cartoon like characters to go with the silly stories she told her eldest daughter.

Catherin's husband decided that if she could draw she should surely be able to paint so as a surprise Christmas gift gave her tuition at a local private art school ....Wellaway Art School. Here she studied water colours and landscape painting for 3 years. Her final year at Wellaway saw her as assistant art teacher.

Armed with the knowledge of these three years of study and a hunger to try different mediums she undertook a 2 year drawing cause which introduced her to pastels. Pastels have been the main medium Catherin has worked in for the past 17 years.

Now she has come full circle and is back painting in water colours with those tiny brushes she loves so much. Whilst pastels still feature in her commissioned work she is enjoying the freedom both water colours, acrylics and now oils give her.

Catherin's artwork reflects her love of animals, they are the main focus of her drawings and paintings and always take centre stage in any piece.

Art and animals are what Catherin's husband calls her passion. In her words "Im so lucky to be able to follow my passion and work as a full time portrait artist".

No matter what animal Catherin is drawing or painting she says they all have a personality of there own and at times seem to have a way of helping her out if only in spirit.

Catherins work has been published in a number of magazines. Urban Tails, The Animal World Magazine, Horse Down Under, Saluki International, The Sighthound Magazine, the Pet Stock bi monthly issue as well as Horses in Art another bi monthly publication and Chronicle of the Horse

Her work has graced the merchandise for the Poodle Club of America's 75th Anniversary show.

Art Awards include:

2006 Les Amis des chats - Roquecor France - Overall Best of Competition

Merriwa Agricultural Show - Best overall Exhibit

Nowra Agricultural Show - Best pastel work.

2008 Helping Paws - Viewers Choice Award

2009 BIS Portrait Section - Berry Exhibition

NEEAE Heart of the Horse Exhibition

2011 Kiama Art Society - 2nd place water colour section

Winner members award for portraiture

2012 Kiama Art Society - winner members award for watercolour

2014 Nowra Show Society - 1st animal study

1st black & white study

Over all champion

Kiama Art Society - 2nd place portraiture section

2017 Fall Classic Breeders Sale - winner of the catalogue design

Artwork can be found in the following countries:

Extensively throughout Australia and the USA.. UK, Wales, Canada, Labrador, Paraguay, Italy, Netherlands, France, Brazil, Sweden, Germany and Denmark

Email: [email protected].a

phone: mobile: 040 161 9884