Aussie Artists
ON THE CANVAS
Catherin Bennett From vibrant bunches of flowers blazing with colour to carefully etched and shadowed figures, Sydney artist Catherin Bennett captures the fluidity and raw beauty of life in every one of her pieces. What draws you to figurative art and the human body? I love figurative art because each and every human body is so different. It’s truly no wonder that trying to capture the human form has always been part of the art world. As humans we’re so expressive – every face, every shape, every colour: there’s so much variation. Then there is the gesture/action of a pose. An artist who can capture these never runs out of material. I love that each person I paint or draw also has a story. My ideal is to bring some element of this to each piece. Or, sometimes, it’s something that evolves as I’m painting. Even the name of the artwork just automatically comes to mind when I look at it. I also love that every person who looks at one of my artworks has a unique interpretation of it. This is why I titled my upcoming exhibition ‘Imagine’, as all of us have dreams and emotions that can be expressed through colour, art, dance, sculpture, music, and many other forms. All we have to do is imagine it. I imagine through my art.
How do you choose a subject or muse? Fortunately I live in a beautiful country, and have a selection of
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fantastic models through the various galleries and drawing clubs I’m part of. I also base my artworks on nature and what I see around me. Sometimes I bring home a piece of bark or flowers that have fallen to the ground so I can capture nature’s true colours. I then have a selection of my drawings or photos I’ve taken that I can base my artworks on. And I love researching the Old Masters of art history for inspiration.
How has your style evolved over the years? I selected the strong black backgrounds in some of my pieces to really draw out the main subject – either the flowers, or the muscles of the human form. I find the colours in nature so incredible and, as an artist, to mix a colour in your palette is a true pleasure. This is why I love oil painting so much, and the unpredictability of how watercolours mix and move around is so much fun. When I start the journey to create a piece or a collection, I usually draw from the colours around me – the ‘Seasons Collection’ of subjects was selected specifically based on this. I’m also finding recently that the human form and the emotion I wish to convey will also determine the colours I select: gentle, strong, moody, expressive, demure, and so on.
THIS PAGE, FROM TOP: Catherin working on Summer Sunflowers; original artwork named Give Me Strength OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Venus Visits; Australian Waratahs; The Writing Table; Australian Wattle
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