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An oil painter hailing from Scotland, whose travels have taken her from the desert to the Alps, is presenting a series of eerie landscapes inspired by her explorations in a new exhibition.
The fruit of her most recent trips through the natural world, Louise Cattrell's light-hued oil, print and sketch works all on display in a showing entitled 'Light in Time' at CCA Galleries International until 18 November.
Currently living and working in London, rather than her native Scotland, Louise is well-travelled, having undertaken residencies in the Australian desert, the Swiss Alps, Martha’s Vineyard and Sri Lanka amongst others.
Pictured: 'Light in Time' will be illuminating CCA until mid-November.
Her work focuses on what she describes as the “360-degree immersive experience”, which explores the feeling of being physically in the landscape and combining both memory and experience.
“The contrasts of landscape, climate and terrain are a collective memory which I bring to the new work,” Louise said about of the work shown in ‘Light in Time'.
“Early mornings in the landscape are a particular point of departure when you so often have it to yourself.
“Exploring a landscape through direct experience and the 360 degrees of panorama that that involves is what I use to make the images, physically exploring where land sea and sky meet is one of the most exciting visual and physical challenges that I do.”
Pictured: Louise on the east coast of Scotland.
“I specifically seek out places where the landscape has no human intervention - what you do see is the action of time, and the elements as they have shaped and changed what surrounds us,” she said.
Her paintings have a quiet, almost eerie, quality to them. Wrapped in mist and soft tones, they invite the observer into peaceful reflexion.
Although representing specific places Louise has visited in her many outdoors adventures, they could be any landscape, from anywhere in the world. The soft shapes evoke different places to different eyes, and some will recognise Scottish scenes while others will believe they can see Corbière in one of the paintings.
Pictured: All of Louise’s landscape are painted using thin washes of oil.
‘Light in Time’ invites visitors to take a few moments to explore Louise’s paintings, the same way she takes the time to explore landscapes, to try and perceive the shapes hiding in the soft, morning light.
“The landscape is illuminated by the fleeting quality of light,” Louise explained. “Changing the known to the mysterious and it is this moment in time that I want to hold in the paintings.”
All of Louise’s landscape are painted using thin washes of oil that give them the transparency of watercolours whilst allowing for “subtle shifts and depth” in the soft tones.
“My aim is to create as much space as I can within the limits of the two dimensions of the linen canvas,” Louise explained. “By removing the horizon line in many - the gauge we use to position ourselves in the landscape - the eye has a limitless arena in which to travel.
"My use of light hues is to continue the quality of air moving in space held for that moment in time.”
Pictured: The exhibition also includes drawings and etchings.
‘Light in Time’ also includes a few drawings and etchings, which Louise says have always formed an important part of what she sees.
“The paintings are all made in the studio with me walking back and forth as the image emerges,” Louise said.
"The drawings and etchings are made sitting outside with a small copper plate in my hand.
“The tree etchings are a personal arboretum started in Switzerland in 2003 and are ongoing. The trees represent the other focus within the work that of the forest and its contrast of silent sound and dense cover.”
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