Landscapes on display

Now on view! Two of my recent landscape paintings are part of the new exhibition of faculty members' artwork at the Danforth Museum School's Round Room Gallery in Framingham, Massachusetts. Each piece is acrylic on canvas, 20" H x 12" W, 2014.

A lesson in lines

Take a look at these awesome drawings by students in Noelle Fournier's Grades 2-3 class at the Danforth Museum School, inspired by my paintings that are currently on exhibit at the school gallery. They really GOT it! Many thanks to Jill Curtis, who took these photos and sent them to me.

The show remains on view for one more week; more information available at:

Recent Paintings by Catherine Carter and Robert Collins

New year, new show

I'm so pleased to be part of a two-person show with Bob Collins at the Danforth Museum School's Round Room Gallery coming up in January. Bob and I have been teachers together at the Danforth school for the past 12 years! Since I first met him all those years ago, I've continued to marvel at his boundless energy and creative ideas as a teacher. He's never failed to be a generous and genial colleague.

Bob Collins

In addition to our professional experiences, Bob and I share many aesthetic sensibilities. We both work abstractly, with little if any reference to actual subject matter. We both rely on a plain black-and-white palette, occasionally punctuated with color. We both work on a square format, so as to give all the elements equal weight. While we speak the same language, however, we are saying different things. Bob's paintings are packed with solid, layered shapes, while mine show linked loops that are weightless and flowing. Bob is earth; I am air. I believe these factors will make for a strong show of contrasts and commonalities.

Catherine Carter

Our exhibit, titled "Recent Paintings," will be on view from Sunday, January 4, to Friday, January 16, 2015. The gallery is located on the second floor of the museum building, in the center of the school, at 123 Union Avenue in Framingham, Massachusetts. Gallery hours are Monday and Wednesday, 9 AM to 9:30 PM; Tuesday and Thursday, 9 AM to 6 PM; Friday and Saturday, 9 AM to 4 PM; and Sunday, noon to 5 PM.

More photos to come!

Artwork by Robert Collins, acrylic on board

"Scribble 4" by Catherine Carter, acrylic on canvas, 20 inches square, 2013

"Small Works" now on display

Now on view is a "Small Works" painting exhibit I have co-curated with Bob Collins at the Danforth Art School Gallery in Framingham, Massachusetts.

When Bob invited me to work with him on this show, we each selected artists whose paintings we enjoy and invited them to display works under 20 inches. The result is a rich and distinctive mixture of styles, materials and approaches by a total of 11 Massachusetts artists.

I am inspired by the contributions to the show by the three painters I invited to join us: Laraine Armenti, David Baggarly, and Cheryl Clinton. Laraine is offering a series of interior views captured in her studio, including "Blue Plant," oil on linen panel, 10" H x 8" W:

"Blue Plant" by Laraine Armenti

I am honored that David Baggarly has created a series of new works for this show, which include the mystical "Short Story # 5," mixed water media on a 12 inch square surface:

"Short Story # 5" by David Baggarly

Cherie Clinton is showing selections from her recent series of landscapes drawn from the woodlands surrounding her home in Boylston, Massachusetts, including "Boylston Tree Light # 2," made of acrylic on a 12 inch square panel:

"Boylston Tree Light # 2" by Cheryl Clinton

And I am displaying this triptych of acrylic paintings on canvas titled "Autumn Tangles"; each one is acrylic on canvas and measures 20" H x 14" W:

"Autumn Tangles 1, 2 and 3" by Catherine Carter / Photo by Cheryl Clinton

Here is a view of one of the walls of the show, shot by Cheryl Clinton:

Opening reception setup / Photo by Cheryl Clinton

Also in the show are works by Robert Collins (co-curator), Meredith Fife Day, Catherine Kehoe, Gabrielle Mossa, Lisa Gabrielle Russell, Janine Schmitt, and Patrice Sullivan.

Bob and I are grateful to Pat Walker, education director at Danforth Art, for working with Bob to place the paintings and hanging the artwork.

The show remains on exhibit until December 15. For more information, please click HERE.

Creative spirit on display

"Dear Jeff" by Virginia Fitzgerald

Today I had the pleasure of taking two of my Framingham State University classes to visit the Fountain Street Fine Art Gallery, located a few miles from the campus. I do this every semester, and it is always a pleasure to introduce my students to this wonderful resource, which features area artists. A trip like this gives my young students, who will soon graduate and embark on life's journey, a sense of the need to seek and appreciate creative expression.

The exhibit we had the good fortune to catch this time was "Breaking Open," a two-person show of two- and three-dimensional works by Virginia Fitzgerald and Anne Gilson. As co-gallerist and photographer Marie Craig gave us a tour of the exhibit, she asked the students to select particular pieces for her to talk about. It was evident from the immediate raising of hands when Marie invited this input that the students were enthusiastic and curious about ALL of the works on display. Virginia's sculpture "Dear Jeff" (pictured left, which was commissioned by a man who lost his fiancee in the events of 9/11) seemed to be the one that elicited the most interest. Most of my students were at the impressionable age of 12 during the event that inspired the work, and you could see the tragedy's lingering impact on their faces when they heard that date mentioned in Marie's description.

The most impressive takeaway from our visit, and the one which I think will provide an ongoing memory for the class, is Virginia's creative approach to LIFE. It was apparent from this exhibit that every day is an adventure to her. New artistic ideas are always flashing through her mind, new expressive possibilities are always suggesting themselves to her, and she is always seeking new methods and materials to communicate her ideas and visions. Her open-mindedness and free spirit are inspiring, especially to these college students whose lives at this stage are increasingly suffocated by deadlines, requirements, and responsibilities. It's important to remind them that one of the reasons we are here (The Reason, in my book) is the need to savor the sensuous, impractical events in our lives, and our field trip experience today provided that example.

Many thanks to Marie Craig, who welcomed us so warmly; to Cherie Clinton, who invited us into her studio and gave us a first-hand glimpse of the creative process; and to Virginia Fitzgerald and Anne Gilson, who shared their artwork with us.

Framingham State students view "Breaking Open" (photo by Marie Craig)

A complete selection of images from the show can be seen HERE.

New horizons

"Highway at Dusk" by Roy Perkinson

As a teacher, I am charged with expanding my students' horizons. I can do this not only through the lessons we cover in the classroom, but also by connecting the students to other professionals in my field who can bring a different voice to the same subject matter I've been covering all semester.

This morning, my students from Framingham State University had the good fortune to meet Roy Perkinson, a painter who works from his studio at the Bancroft Building in Framingham, Massachusetts. Roy allowed us to visit his working space, so we could get a direct glimpse of his creative environment. He also gave us an informative tour of "Sight Lines," the three-person show he has curated at Fountain Street Fine Art, a spacious art gallery also located in the Bancroft Building. Roy's own paintings of cityscapes, roadways and other landscape views are on display in this show, along with artworks by two of his long-time friends, Andrew Haines and Greg Heins, who are also inspired by landscape. Haines paints Boston and its environs from unexpected angles and vantage points, such as a distant street spied between two foreground skyscrapers, with ladder-like crosswalks zigzagging across the gap. Heins, meanwhile, photographs views of street scenes in and around Paris.

It was a joy for me to watch Roy interact with my students, who are just beginning to explore with paint, and hear him tell them about the various artistic decisions he made in each of his artworks. He explained how one painting in particular had been inspired by a rear-view mirror vision that shocked him with its intense color and light as he was driving along what had initially seemed like a barren stretch of road. We, his audience, smiled as he described the experience of having to pull off the road and photograph the scene, knowing that some day, a painting (or two) would result. ("Highway at Dusk" is shown above.)

The visit with Roy was a treat for my class and for me. The artist ended our tour with a reminder that we are always discovering who we are, no matter what our age or stage in life, and to remember to enjoy that process of discovery as it unfolds.

If you are near Framingham and have a chance to visit Fountain Street Fine Art and see Roy and his colleagues' marvelous show, I highly recommend a visit! Even better: the three artists will present a public talk on Sunday, April 14, from 2 to 3 PM. The exhibit is on view until April 21.

More on our visit on the gallery's Facebook page, here.

I chat with Roy about the show, while several of my students take notes on their written assignment as part of our visit.
Photo by Marie Craig, gallery co-director, Fountain Street Fine Art.

Trek to Chelsea

Had a wonderful visit to Manhattan yesterday with three artist friends. After the bus deposited us near Madison Square Garden, we treked over to Chelsea to visit galleries, and our walk included a number of blocks over the newly completed section of the High Line. Such a lovely view of nature in the city, with fine views of the surrounding buildings made possible by the elevated location of the pathway. (Below, a photo of us on our walk, taken by my fellow traveler Laraine Armenti.)



Both Laraine (on her blog, here) and another of our companions, Jeanne Williamson (on her blog, here) have detailed our journey, Laraine with photographs and Jeanne with a complete listing of the galleries and shows we visited.

All in all a fun and stimulating adventure! As I wrote in the blog entry on my last trip to NYC, I now return to my studio inspired by the artwork I saw on display as well as the general energy of that vibrant city. Can't wait to get back to the series of large canvases I started last week. I even dreamed of some new painting ideas during the bus ride home!

Inspirations old and new

Phew, just finished my 10-piece "Autumn Lines" series, and they're heading to the photographer's next week. It feels like a big project has been completed, and I'll probably take a bit of a rest before I paint that intensely again.

I already know what direction I'll be heading in when I do resume my studio time, though. I saw the wonderful exhibit "Global Patterns: Dress and Textiles in Africa" at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston last week, and I was especially inspired by an indigo-dyed length of fabric that was part of the show. I sat and stared at it for quite some time!

When I returned home, I couldn't find that particular piece on line, but I did find this one that shares its color and a similar type of pattern here:




This exhibit reminded me of a direction I was going in about 10 years ago. I wasn't consciously inspired by African textiles, but there is a definite similarity between those works and what I saw at the MFA last week. For example, here is a painting called "Strike," which I made in 2001 (acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 28" square).



So I'm figuring that I'll start a series with these kinds of shapes, colors and allover pattern on a square. Looking forward to it!

A visit to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

My husband and I visit Richmond every year in January, to celebrate a late Christmas with family members. Fortunately they are art enthusiasts who enjoy taking us to view various exhibits during our trips. We haven’t been able to visit the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts for some time, partly because their facilities have been closed for renovation and, sadly, because family illnesses and transitions have required our attention during our visits in recent years.

But this year, all systems were GO for our trip to the museum, and I was looking forward to seeing the new building. I was not prepared, however, for one of the most impressive and rewarding museum visits I can ever remember having.

The building itself is tremendous (see above). The architecture is sleek and elegant, designed in a way that complements the 19th century structures nearby. The interiors are spacious and inviting, with warm-toned marble walls and carefully spaced courtyards and lobbies. The gallery layouts are well-considered too; in the 20th-century-art rooms, for example, the various creative movements are distinctly separated but arranged with care, so that the viewer has a sense of how the periods are both unique and interrelated. The well-written wall documentation provides facts that inform but do not overwhelm the viewer.

I was especially impressed by the show of Sally Mann’s photographs in the Special Exhibition gallery. This exhibit included examples from all of Mann’s series since the 1970s, but was hung in a non-chronological way that revealed the various turns and connections her ideas have made over the years. Here again, the wall blurbs were informative and stimulating without overwhelming the visual experience. (I’ve noticed at the MFA in Boston, for example, that I read their ceiling-to-floor wall documentation and start to feel a little bit like “get on with the art, already.”)

I was also very excited by the galleries showing 21st-century art. It seems clear that 21st-century artists are individuals who are “doing their own thing,” taking notice of the past but not in a way that boxes them into a “movement,” as in the 20th century. I left feeling inspired as an artist and, as a viewer, very excited about the art world in the present, and certainly for the future.

Of course I needed to visit old favorites and take a few touristy shots. I posed in front of a Franz Kline (below) and my husband posed in front of a James Rosenquist. (Yes, we did receive weird looks from the security guards. But as the museum’s stated policy is to allow non-flash shots, we went ahead and said, “Hi, Mom!” to the camera.)



One work in particular that stood out to me was “Fast Track Home” (below), a piece made in 1999 by an artist I had never heard of before, Willie Cole. Cole created the pattern on the canvas by scorching the surface with a hot iron. Different heat settings or lengths of time held against the canvas created a range of browns. Once you know the technique, it is easy to discern the triangular shape of the iron’s base. But the intricate pattern Cole created, and the artwork’s references to female identity and history, among other things, take the work far beyond technical considerations.



I was walking on air when we left (which we did only because the museum was closing, not because we were ready to leave!), and am excited to make the museum a planned part of our annual Virginia visits.

All photos in this post taken by my husband, Kevin Seward.

Review of "George Segal: Fragments and Pastels"

My review of the exhibit "George Segal: Fragments and Pastels" appears in today's New Bedford Standard-Times. To read, please click here. (Please note that you have to "subscribe" to read the article, but it is free to register as a subscriber.)

Looking and understanding

It has been a big week of art viewing for me. I admit that I am a homebody and I almost never travel. I get so overwhelmed by life and its many details and commitments that it's all I can do to deal with what's right in front of my nose.

But last week I finally had the time, energy and determination to look at art. Not just any art, GREAT ART. Wednesday I saw the tremendous exhibit of George Segal's work at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Art Gallery, curated by David B. Boyce, who was a personal friend of and model for the late Mr. Segal. And Friday I went to visit galleries in the Chelsea district of New York City, where I saw much that was great, including exhibits by Anselm Kiefer (Gagosian Gallery) and Brice Marden (Matthew Marks Gallery).

These experiences have truly changed my perspective, not just realizations about adaptations I want to make in my daily life and yearly goals, but also deep-rooted discoveries about who I am, what I want to make of my life and how I might go about doing so. Such is the power of art!!

And returning to my studio and looking at my latest works with these recent art-viewing experience fresh in my mind has given me direct insight into what I'm currently making and where it has the potential to go artistically.

Among many other things, I realize that I have been far more focused on resume-building than on art-creating. I don't mean time-wise, because I certainly paint many hours a week, especially for someone who teaches as much as I do. But as far as vision, as far as long-term focus, I realize I haven't been letting my art come from as deep a place as it could, or say as much as it could. I've been settling for short-term considerations, for work that's not bad but not fully developed.

I've been too afraid of what might happen, of ending up like someone I don't want to be like, instead of spreading my wings and seeing how far I can fly.

Time will tell how this new consciousness manifests itself, but I feel greatly changed inside. A wonderful way to end what has been a year of great progress!

Image shown above is a number of pieces from my new series of works on paper.

Recommended viewing: "Home Grown" at New Bedford Art Museum

You have two more weeks to catch the amazing show "Home Grown: 10 From the Southcoast" at the New Bedford Art Museum, curated by David B. Boyce.

The show highlights a diverse range of styles and mediums including etching, blown glass, graphic design and oil painting, all made by artists who were born and raised in the New Bedford area.

These artists include the amazing Peter Pereira, a master with the camera whose sensitivity ranks him among the greats of photojournalism, and my dear friend John Borowicz, whose portraits manage to capture every wrinkle and follicle, but also reveal the personality underneath.

Other artists in the show include David Baggarly (gorgeous jewel tones in oil inspired by icon paintings), John Cox, Jason Duval, Hoyt Hottel III, Mark Parsons (you've never seen etchings with textures this rich), Ben Shattuck (complete characters described in gliding shorthand brush strokes), Carolyn Swiszcz, and David Walega.

The photo above is a view from the show, taken by John Borowicz, as museum visitors contemplate his paintings. For more information, click here.

An interview with Carol O'Malia

My talented friend Carol O'Malia currently has a solo show up at the Julie Nester Gallery in Park City, Utah, this month, and the local TV station filmed this interview with her last week, available here on youtube.

I always find it fascinating when artists talk about what they do, why and how. They always get a gleam in their eye, and it reminds me of why we are all here in the first place. Carol's eyes gleam a lot during this interview.

She is offering painting workshops in her studio in Framingham, MA, this January and February. For students looking for thorough and individualized training in working with oils from a true master of the medium, this is a great opportunity. More information is available here.

Carole Rabe's exhibit

Yesterday I visited a three-person painting exhibit that included Carole Rabe's sun-splashed interiors. If you're in the Metrowest Boston area, I highly recommend visiting her show at the Mazmanian Gallery. Below is one of her works on display.

For more information on the show, click here.

For more information on Carole's work, visit her website here.

Works to savor

Carol O'Malia is a most amazing painter, as well as a long-time friend. I am always awestruck by the eloquence of her work, and was so excited by the new pieces shown on her website that I wanted to share them with you. Click here and enjoy!

Wendy Soneson's watercolor portrait exhibit

Here is my dear friend, Wendy Soneson, in front of a poster on a kiosk in Coolidge Corner, which advertises her upcoming exhibit of watercolor portraits. (She cleverly morphed tiny closeups of the portraits into an image of the Mona Lisa!)

For Wendy's exhibit, titled "The Women of Brookline," she created more than 40 portraits of Brookline's most accomplished female citizens. Inspired by the soul-searching portraits of Alice Neel, her paintings are mini-biographies of the women as people, not mere renderings of their faces. Wendy received a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council in support of her project. Some of these portraits can be viewed on her blog here.

"The Women of Brookline" opens at the Brookline Arts Center this Sunday, October 19, with an opening reception from 3 to 5 PM. For more information, visit the Brookline Arts Center's website here.