Artist Focus - Cathy Smale

Cathy Smale

One of our featured artists this month is Cathy Smale. You can visit Cathy's Feature window at the Wynd Gallery from September 22 - 4 October and find out more about Cathy and her work below.

The Wynd Gallery is a co-operative art gallery run by local artists.

The gallery offers an ever-changing exhibition of contemporary prints, paintings, sculpture, jewellery, photography, ceramics and textiles.

The gallery promotes the Arts in Letchworth Garden City and provides an exciting venue suitable for artists working across a range of contemporary visual arts media.

Throughout the year our artists will share their work through our feature window programme

You are our current featured artist at the Wynd gallery, with our featured artist window. Please tell us about what we can expect to see when we visit the gallery? I'm excited to feature my work in the new gallery windows and showcase a collection of my latest paintings, prints and puzzles

Can you tell us a little about your journey into art?

I started exhibiting my work soon after university, part time at first, then full time for about 15 years now, and a member of the wynd gallery for the last 6 of those

What materials or techniques do you most enjoy working with?

I use oil paints, a fast drying alkyd version

What’s one tool you couldn’t live without?

My palette knife

Where do you draw inspiration from? Nature, people, emotions, or something else?

I balance observation with interpretation, building images from sketches, memory and photos

What projects or ideas are you excited to explore next?

I'm currently working on a "skywards" series, looking up through canopies and plan to make different versions of this idea. The first was a blossom one, full of birds, second is still a work in progress, inspired by the plants and flowers in my garden

Do you have a ritual or routine that helps you get into a creative mindset?

I usually have several paintings on the go, and start with something easy, like blocking in a background or painting the titles on the side, warming up to more detailed pieces.

Coffee, tea, or something else while you create?

Tea helps me find my creativitea

What advice would you give someone who wants to start exploring craft or art themselves?

Just start. Don't wait for the perfect time. Just start finding time.