Featured Artist for October 1998

Featured GiveAway by Lorraine Catania Snowflowers 24" x 20" - 1997 Oil on Canvas Valued at $500

John Colburn Rossville, Georgia

Snowflowers captures light and luminosity. The lushness of these Snowflowers makes one think of a velvety, soft pillow of flowers. The artist has also framed this work beautifully.


MEET THE ARTIST

Featured Artist Lorraine Catania

Lorraine was born on February 3rd in Niagara Falls, New York. She was born in the baby boomer years, and grew up in a manufacturing environment. Everyone around her seemed to be just getting by on a day to day basis. As Lorraine looks back, she realizes that her parents must have made many sacrifices to ensure that she and her sister had a different kind of life.

Lorraine has lived in the Bay Area for a good part of her adult life, and currently resides and works in Santa Cruz, California. Like many others in California, she is a transplant from another dimension, the east coast. However, she has also lived in Boston as well as the Chicago area. She believes that this varied cultural experience has influenced her work which includes traditional florals as well as impressionistic and abstract images.

Having secured a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New York at Buffalo, she spent a number of years working as a human resources professional at Apple Computer, Inc. However, for the past several years, she has been working on her art full time. Lorraine is also very active in the Santa Cruz Art League. She was a member of the Board of Directors and is currently responsible for the development of membership programs.

She doesn't use any fancy paints, canvas or paper. She uses Winsor Newton paints and Fredrix canvas in standard sizes so that framing is easier and less expensive. When she paints on paper, it’s either heavy watercolor or archival paper that has been prepared with three coats of acrylic gesso. When painting on canvas, she prefers to use an oil base ground. She thinks the oils flow better over this surface and it seems to also allow for more adjustments in the later stages of the painting.

This painting is from the Floral Series and was painted from the same set-up used for Snowflowers. (This month’s giveaway). Both paintings remind Lorraine of her mother and grandmother since they grew and loved Hydrangeas. The artist states that "Hydrangeas II is a study in the use of violet and rose and an exercise in simplification. It also is intentionally untraditional in structure with a very strong angular background pattern. I am constantly aware of that all important negative space, and I want it to work harder for me."

Hydrangeas II, 14" X 18" Oil on Canvas, 1998

Lorraine says she seem to do her best work when she is well rested. So her best time for creating is during the morning hours. She paints each day for several hours in two to three hour intervals. When her vision of the piece starts to get fuzzy, she will take a half hour break. However, since creativity does not have an on/off switch, she often finds herself working at the strangest times. Creativity does not lend itself to scheduling so Lorraine has learned not to ignore the call of the creative moment.

Lorraine also recognizes that art can be all consuming, and has said to her husband, “I sometimes think I can understand why Van Gogh cut off his ear.” So she makes sure that she pursues other interests. “This isn’t too hard to do when you live in California with this wonderful weather--and it’s even easier when you live in a beach community.” She spends a lot of time with her dog taking long walks and trying to stay out of trouble.

	This painting was like a puzzle for Lorraine. The driving force was her continuing search for the perfect interaction between the subject matter and negative space. Vase Abstract shows strong lighting effects and her use of this lighting shows true dimension with luminous properties. Her abstracts are part of that never ending desire to make negative space a more important part of her work.
Vase Abstract, 14" x 18" Oil on Canvas, 1998

Photography has also become more important to Lorraine and she's always asking neighbors if she can go into their yards to take pictures of their gardens. A story comes to mind for Lorraine when talking about photographing scenery for her works. Many years ago, she was interested in old buildings and found an old farm house to shoot. The next thing she knew, there was an old truck speeding down the drive kicking up all kinds of dust. The driver stopped in front of her and yelled to her to get away from his property. When she saw the barrel of the rifle, she knew it was time to go. So now, she's learned to ask first. She also belongs to book clubs and admits she can not pass up a good horror or science fiction novel. Dean Koontz is her favorite author and she loves those old '50's Science Fiction movies.

Design Bouquet is a more recent painting. This is a more contemporary look at a floral bouquet with an abstract background. It is one example of what Lorraine is trying to achieve in her art; maximum utilization of negative space.
	Design Bouquet, 16" x 20" Oil on Canvas, 1998

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Early in her marriage, her husband John, worked in retail so they traveled a great deal. She has an adult daughter, Kim, who has been invaluable in getting all her art on-line. Both John and Kim have been very supportive of Lorraine and her creative talent and their patronage and support have been important to her.

Her first introduction to art was in college where she used electives to get a basic art history background. That was just the beginning. Once her family moved away from the old homestead, she really started to paint in earnest. She really feels that if she would have stayed near her immediate family in western New York that she would not be an artist today. Being away from her nurturing family and ethnic roots left her searching for something and that something led her to creating art.

	Spring Bouquet is another floral which was recently juried into a statewide exhibit sponsored by the Santa Cruz Art League. It is typical of most of her traditional florals with a misty background and a point of drama, (the highlighted vase). Also of note is her use of generic floral shapes leaving some of the interpretation up to each viewer.
Spring Bouquet, 16" x 20" Oil on Canvas, 1997

Lorraine loves cheese and wine and her crazy dog but just abhors TV commercials. She thinks commercials scramble your brain and thanks God for the mute button on her remote control. On a more serious note, she does not like some of what is happening in the art world. She states, "A great deal of today's art seems to be based on who can come up with what is the most clever idea. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing an artist who has been clever in producing a good piece of art. But I often ask myself is the art of being clever really art? You think about it and decide for yourself."

She values her privacy, and hopes to be able to continue to work on her art to see where it takes her. She's a very different person than when she was in her 20's and 30's when she was a bit wild and restless. That's all changed now and she's working through these changes and suspects her art reveals it. Her Body Language series, a sample below, seems to show some of what she feels about these changes.

Fragile Peace is from the Body Language Series and gives us an inside look at the artist herself. She reluctantly reveals that this painting says it all about some of her more difficult moments this past year. "The image of the woman holding herself so closely trying to maintain her equilibrium, and afraid the outside world will destroy it all. Art can be very lonely and frightening. You look around and there's no one but you to resolve the work. That's what this painting means to me."

Fragile Peace, 20" x 30" Oil on Canvas, 1998

Lorraine finds art stimulating and always different. Even though she starts each work with a vision of the finished product, she's always surprised by the outcome. She says, "While painting, there are many happy accidents that can lead you down a different road and I find this very exciting." That's why when she begins a painting, she'll always place it in a central spot in her house for a couple of days to observe what she's done. This observation helps her identify the strong as well as the weak spots. This is the most important time for Lorraine where the painting is still basic enough to change but shows just enough to allow her to determine how best to proceed. She thrives on the challenge to make it all work.

	Geranium II is an experimental piece showing a freer style with a familiar subject. "Sometimes the old and familiar can be dressed up for a new view. I thought people might be interested in how an artist can paint the same subject matter and evoke a different response from the viewer."
Geranium II, 12" x 16" Oil on Canvas, 1998

EXHIBITIONS

• 68th Annual Statewide juried show sponsored by the Santa Cruz Art League

• Santa Cruz Government Center juried exhibition - ‘Crossroads: The Evolution of an Artist’

• Santa Cruz Art League Membership Exhibition since January 1997 to present

Contact the Artist

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THE ARTIST'S STATEMENT

Every painting is like a 1000 piece puzzle. I’m involved in a problem solving exercise. What color, what value of that color, placement of the subject matter, relationship of the subject matter to the negative space. And when it all comes together just right, there’s nothing better. It’s exciting, energizing, and a little piece of me. ~ Lorraine Catania