Canadian Wilderness: Art by Catherine Howard
Fox "Sionnach", acrylic on cradled board
Orangeville, Ontario-based artist Catherine Howard creates acrylic paintings of animals and Canadian wilderness. The artist’s style emphasizes texture and fine detail – thin layers of paint create a look that one might mistake for pastel or pencil crayon.
Moon Rise Love Song, acrylic on canvas
I appreciate the way Catherine’s textural style is used in rendering furry animals and forest creatures. In paintings of foxes, racoons, or birds, there’s a sense that each individual hair or feather has been carefully created with a tiny brush. I also really enjoy the way Catherine’s style translates into landscapes – these works have the atmosphere of classical illustration, and some of them would be well-suited as book covers.
Catherine's portfolio website, www.artofcatherinehoward.com
Each scene is rendered in even detail, and the inclusion of architectural structures and occasional human figures lends a narrative sense to the works, as if they represent moments in a greater story. Many of the landscapes are specifically winter or autumnal, adding to a sense of solemn intrigue.
