By NVOS artist Davina Rubin
NVOS Artist Cathryne Trachok likes details – and she also likes abstract color and texture. She then likes to combine both, and then move from those into a full painting or drawing, or building a visual idea. A texture, color or shape will catch her eye, and then she builds the image around that.
And she enjoys painting the light! "I have taken two workshops with artists David Leffel and his wife, Sherrie McGraw, in which the emphasis was on light and paint. These workshops have transformed my work."
Besides the portrait work which is her bread and butter, Cathryne is inspired by looking outside herself, which provides her with much material, with many subjects to paint. Eclectic by nature, she has lived all over the country, and enjoys a diverse collection of images for her paintings.
"New Orleans is my latest series. My in-laws lived there for over twenty years, and in that beautiful old city, every corner is a painting." And, of course, Napa is quite the inspirational place! "I wake up every morning thankful for the beautiful place I live in!"
Cathryne was featured this year in American Art Collector magazine as an artist to watch, and was part of Southwest Art's spread featuring theAmerican Women Artists' National Exhibition for 2012. Among her awards are the Rogue Guirey Simpson Memorial Award at the American Women Artists National Show in 2012 and Artist of the Year for both 2010 and 2011 at the Reno Rodeo. She has been chosen again to be the Artist of the Year for the 2014 Reno Rodeo. She was juried into the Oil Painters of America National Juried Show for 2012, as well as the Oil Painters Western Regional Show for 2011.
She enjoys seeing the abstract take form into a realistic piece, which she compares to “...photography in ‘the old days’ when you didn’t see the final image until you were in the darkroom. I just do my work in the light.”
You'll find Cathryne Trachok and her artwork at Studio #4, at 1949 Laurel Street, in Napa, California. And you can see her artwork online, too, at www.catrachokstudios.com.
Artist, writer and actress Davina Rubin uses acrylics and mixed media to create abstract works on both canvas and paper. She paints in her small loft in Napa, and writes a philosophic blog atwww.davinarubin.com. You can also see some of her artwork at www.davinarubinart.weebly.com, and you can visit her at Studio #42 during Napa Valley Open Studios.
