I was born and raised in Australia in the countryside just outside Melbourne. Every few years we would return to the UK to visit my Grandparents, who lived in a glorious Victorian walled garden on the Ilse of Wight.

On my first Summer there, It was as though the landscape of Fairy-tales had come to life, and it was here, that my love of Nature and Imagination began to intertwine. My Grandmother gave me the nickname Catkin, a name still used with some today, and how all my paintings are signed.

Now living in Southern Scotland, in a small cottage surrounded by Woodland , solitude and nature weave a magic spell. An enchantment that causes the mist like characters of the imaginal realms to make their way into paper and paint.

It is a fascination for the capacity for stories and art to enrich us, to impart wisdom and to heal us in times of need that lures me to the easel. There is a kind of home coming in painting.

My inspiration lies in the illustrators of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, where a mood of nostalgia and a romantic ruralism coloured the folk tales and classical children's literature of the time.

The Victorians' great appetite for fairy culture seems to be a response to a rapidly industrialising Britain. Today, we are again seeing a rebirth of a Romantic period in the face of great changes in information and communication technology. A 'new romantic ruralism' with its love of nature, organic food, heritage crafts and mindfulness, is providing a steady hand to guide us through the changes we are facing and return us to that which is inherently peaceful within ourselves.

I love old trees, heritage architecture , wild nature and grand gardens, and, if I were a man of a certain age I would definitely smoke a pipe. As it is I have to make do with a paint brush...

​Tea is also an essential ingredient.

Cathy’s work can be viewed on her website and her Instagram page.