Cathy Lorraway

Cathy Lorraway Biography

I think that the role of an artist is to portray beauty: to nourish the spiritual soul with light and colour. I love painting on location using media, like pastels, which vividly portray colour and light patterns which move me emotionally. Sometimes I enlarge these plein air studies in oil or acrylic to create even larger emotional impact. I try to express my emotional response to the sights and sounds of nature by using media in a gestural, loose way to help transport the viewer to their sensory memories of a place: the changing light of cloud patterns, rustling sounds of weaving fields of wildflowers and colourful fall trees. I am currently having fun exploring pastels, acrylics and waterbased oils and discovering the beautiful landscapes at home and on my travels. A former high school art teacher, I am a lifelong learner and a “work in progress”, constantly evolving in my artistic craft. I am a graduate of the Ontario College of Art Drawing and Painting program (A.O.C.A) where I returned later to earn a BFA. I am also a graduate University of Toronto (BEd) and the University of Ottawa (BA in English).

I have been honoured to be accepted into juried shows with Pastel Artists Canada, Neilson Park Creative Centre, Brampton Beaux Arts Gallery, Burlington Fine Art Association, Oakville Art Society, Joshua Creek Arts Centre, McMaster Innovation Park and recently joined as a guest artist for the West Hamilton Artists Tour and Art in Action Tour.

My artwork has found new homes in Canada and abroad. Currently I continue to teach students of all ages in Canada as an instructor at the Oakville Art Society and through the Culture Department for the Town of Oakville and internationally as an artist in the classroom. I currently volunteer as the Burlington Fine Art Association Fireside Lounge co Ordinator at the Art Gallery of Burlington. I am the past President of Arts Burlington.