Cathy Earle

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Cathy Earle is a full-time watercolour artist and instructor. She completed the Art Fundamentals program at Lambton College (Sarnia, Ontario) in 1982 and went on to the Ontario College of Art (now OCAD) where she earned a Fine Arts degree in 1992. At OCA, she learned her signature watercolour technique that she continues to use and teach, mixing all her colours from the primaries. Cathy has had her art shown in 12 solo art exhibitions and has had her works featured in 14 juried shows. She is an elected member of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour and the Ontario Society of Artists. She has received 12 Exhibition Assistance Grants from the Ontario Arts Council. Cathy has taught beginner and advanced art classes for adults and children since 1996. Her illustrations have been featured in numerous venues including Charleston Magazine and Harrowsmith Country Life Magazine.

Cathy Earle
340 Cromwell St., Sarnia, Ontario N7T 3Y5
Phone: (519) 331-6197
E-mail: catearle60@gmail.com
Website: www.CathyEarle.com
Education
1992 Fine Arts, Ontario College of Art (Toronto, Ontario)
1981 Art Fundamentals, Lambton College (Sarnia, Ontario)

Solo Shows
2019 “A Delicate Balance,” The Lawrence House, Sarnia, Ontario
2018 “Passion,” Artopia Art Gallery, Sarnia, Ontario
2011 Inverlynn Art Gallery (Whitby, Ontario)
2010 The Lawrence House Center for the Arts (Sarnia, Ontario)
2007 Gallery Lambton (Sarnia, Ontario)
2000 Inverlynn Art Gallery (Whitby, Ontario)
1999 Wagner Rosenbaum Art Gallery (Toronto, Ontario)
1999 Inverlynn Art Gallery (Whitby, Ontario)
1996 Inverlynn Art Gallery (Whitby, Ontario)
1994 Inverlynn Art Gallery (Whitby, Ontario)
1992 Linton Shaw Art Gallery (Port Hope, Ontario)
1992 Art Gallery of Northumberland (Cobourg, Ontario)

Juried Shows
2024 “Where I’m From,” Gallery in the Grove (Bright’s Grove, Ontario)
2024 “Here and Now” Members Exhibition, Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour (Online)
2024 Ontario Society of Artists New Members Exhibition, Neilson Park Creative Centre (Toronto, Ontario)
2023 Colour and Form Society’s 71st Annual Open Juried Exhibition, Studio M Gallery (Toronto, Ontario)
2023 Ontario Society of Artists Members Exhibition, Neilson Park Creative Centre (Toronto, Ontario)
2023 “Call Out for Colour” Gallery in the Grove (Bright’s Grove, Ontario)
2023 “Homeward” Ontario Society of Artists Members Exhibition Neilson Park Creative Centre (Toronto, Ontario).
2022 Rosedale Art Fair (Toronto, Ontario)
2021 69th Annual Colour and Form Society Juried Exhibition (Online)
2021 “Paint Ontario,” 25th Annual Juried Show Lambton Heritage Museum (Grand Bend, Ontario)
2021 Honourable Mention “Beyond the Edge,” Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour
2019 Award “Floyd Gibson Juried Art Show,” The Lawrence House (Sarnia, Ontario)
2018 Award “Floyd Gibson Juried Art Show,” The Lawrence House (Sarnia, Ontario)
2015 “Connections and Interpretations,” Gallery in the Grove (Bright’s, Grove, Ontario)

Collections
◊ Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour, Diploma Collection, Rodman Hall Arts Center (St. Catharines, Ontario)
◊ Our Lady of Mercy Church (Sarnia, Ontario)
◊ Board of Education (Cobourg, Ontario)
◊ Acanthus Interiors and Design (Port Hope, Ontario)

Elected Memberships
◊ Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour
◊ Ontario Society of Artists
◊ Colour and Form Society

Juror
2019 The Sarnia Artist Workshop Awards (Sarnia, Ontario)
2018 Lambton College Juried Student Art Show, The Lawrence House (Sarnia, Ontario)

Art Instruction
2019–Present Beginner and intermediate watercolour classes online and plein air programs (Sarnia, Ontario).
2013-2019 Beginner watercolour classes at The Lawrence House (Sarnia, Ontario).
2007-2011 Watercolour, Part-time studies program, Lambton College (Sarnia, Ontario).
2001-2006 Watercolour, Gallery Lambton (Sarnia, Ontario).
1996-1998 Children’s art instruction, Northumberland Art Gallery (Cobourg, Ontario).
Illustration Work
2020 Charleston Magazine
2016 Kaw Valley Growers
1998 Harrowsmith Country Life Magazine
1996 Plant and Garden Magazine

Grants
1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019
Exhibition Assistance Grant, Ontario Arts Council

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

I have been painting for over 35 years primarily in watercolour. Painting is an extension of my personality. When I see beauty around me, it brings me joy. I connect with what I am seeing by trying to create it in the most vivid, expressive way I can.
I am drawn to vibrant subject matter such as flowers, fruits, vegetables, reflections in glass, water, and birds. I use a limited palette of just the primaries, which keeps my colours fresh and vivid.

What makes my watercolours unique is my depth of colour. I continue to push the colours to add depth and dimension. In many of my paintings, every square inch of the paper is painted with many layers and tones of colour. My intent is to continue to come up with interesting compositions that draw the viewer in. The past few years I have been exploring painting with coloured inks for their vibrancy and incorporating them with my watercolour paints.

I am drawn to the incredible vibrancy of flowers. I love how the leaves bend and sway. They are delicate yet strong at the same time. I love pattern and contrast in my paintings and sometimes I will break up the shapes by adding geometric shapes such as circles and squares to tell a story about two circles interconnecting and how they relate to each other.