Description
‘Oasis’ by Cat Schappach
Artist: Cat Schappach
Title: ‘Oasis’
Medium: Gouache and ink on cold pressed heavy weight illustration board
Dimensions: 19″ x 19″
Framing: Unframed
Year of Creation: 2020
About the Artwork:
“It’s a bit of Egyptian revival. Focused around the scarab. The deity represents the goddess Isis. It is more colourful than much of my work. Painted on cold pressed Illustration board. The imagery is very symmetrical. Isis is the goddess of love but has connections to the underworld.” – Cat Schappach
About the Artist:
Cat Schappach grew up in the countryside of New York’s Hudson Valley where she played in the woods with creepy crawlies and dragons. Her work is defined by her deep connection to imagery and nature, along with history, symbolism, and the female form. Other inspirations that shape her work are her love of gardening, horses and surrealist art.
From an early age she was influenced by her supportive art teachers. Painter, illustrator Robert Lee (1994) who was a member of the New York Illustrators club, was an early influence, introducing Cat to other artists, who included John Hull (years) professor at Marymount College. She learned to draw horses from Sam Savitt, and from observing her own riding horses.
Cat spent hours as a child immersed in book illustration. She was drawn to the works of M.C. Escher, Max Ernst and Rene Magritte. Later influences include Illustrators Edmund du Lac, Charles Folkard, Arthur Rackham and William Joyce. Having both a B. A. in fine art and an M.A.T. She shares her personal art passions for different styles with her students. She is energized by what young artists bring to the table, the dialog, the risk and struggle the mind goes through to break out of the box.
The abstract, the surreal and the magical are what drive her. Her art is entwined with fantasy, symbolism and often mythology, eliciting strong reactions from her audience. Repeated shapes, elements of the natural world, and symbolism are regular themes in her art. These include details of horses, plants, birds and insects often blended with everyday objects. She works most often in ink but will occasionally invite color into her illustrations.
“I often have a dialog with my works that are more illustrative in nature, these pieces hold different meanings than designs that develop around a particular object. Illustrations are an experience I hold dear, often a story into my own life, or a fantasy I dream or concoct into which I escape. Sometimes I follow a physical or emotional feeling as the illustration comes to life.”