CATHERINE MARSH

A love of the ocean has always been a passion for me.

 After moving to Cairns from Sydney in 1980 I was able to realise that passion by spending the next 20 years working as a professional deckhand on the game fishing boats on the Great Barrier Reef. I explored everywhere on the reef, fishing for marlin and sailfish and snorkelling and diving in some of the most magnificent coral gardens. This also provided inspiration for me and whilst working on boats at Dunk Island I started to paint the tropical fish on T-Shirts for friends and fellow boaties, then came the chance to buy screen printing equipment and I taught myself to print multicolour designs for T-shirts and also fabrics which I designed and made into a range of resort wear. During this time I also dabbled in watercolours and silk paintings and turned the latter into menu covers for Bedarra Bay Resort and other local restaurants.

After 30 years up north I was ready for a change and moved to Brisbane nearly 2 years ago. Of course what could be more natural than to live on the river at Kangaroo Point !

Whilst driving around, I noticed the paintings on the traffic signal boxes and so applied to paint one at Newstead by the new Gasworks development. It was great fun and I received so many wonderful comments from passersby that I was inspired to start a series of paintings of cameo scenes on the Brisbane river.  

Inspiration for Art

My love of fashion has also inspired a long held dream of creating a series of paintings and fabric designs based on the marine life on the Great Barrier Reef which I am presently working on.  I also love Tromp L’Oeil and have done a few sketches and will be doing some larger paintings that people can use in their apartments to create an illusion. I am using acrylic paints at present, however I love the flow of watercolour and silk painting and enjoy ink and pencil sketching and am yet to experiment with oil paints. I am a totally self taught artist, however being in Brisbane now gives me access to classes to help develop my techniques. I am always so excited  to design and paint, exploring different mediums and hopefully evolve into a better artist as time goes on.

Art Exhibitions

• 2016-2019: "ART ST @ the ArtSpace", ART ST Group Exhibition, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital
• 2017: "Country to Coast", ART ST Group Exhibition at Percolator Art Gallery, Paddington
• October 2015, "Brisbane - Hidden in Plain Sight" Group ART ST exhibition at Percolator Gallery.
• November 2014, "JOURNEY TO EUROPE", with Grazia Carrara and Karen Collins at Percolator Gallery.

You can also see some of my art on a Brisbane Traffic Signal Box! This box was painted with the help of Karen Collins, Anne Armstrong and Patty Gonzalez and is located at the corner of Brunswick & Arthur Sts, Fortitude Valley;
and at Medley Cafe, Wharf St, Kangaroo Point.