I have a treat for you today…

the work of Catherine Roach. 

I love art.  My home and office are filled to the brim with the work of artists that I love.  And, while I have a significant appreciation for the talent it takes to produce realism, I prefer not to own it. 

I want the artwork I own to inspire me to dream of what can be, not what already is.  Admittedly, that is my personal choice.

I am a fan of modern Romanticism in art and artists.  I own work that leads with the heart and confronts it in a cerebral way.  I like the idea of the gifted hero following inspired creativity and knowledge to produce genuinely special work that defies norms and expectations.

The work of Catherine Roach took me by surprise. 

I researched every piece of her work that I could find electronically.  By the time I had viewed it all, I felt like I had an intimate experience. 

Roach’s work makes me sad a little, but I find myself smiling at the wit with which it is packaged.  I am aesthetically drawn to Roach’s frenzied sense of composition and use of color and then smacked by its raw, personal commentary. 

When I asked about her process, it all became a little clearer. Roach says, “I begin a piece by reading over the scribbled down sea of words from that day, and placing images for these statements in my head at first, jotting down ideas as I go. I work rapidly without restraint, not holding anything back, to some extent of a free write. I use a large variety of media when creating, from pens to watercolor, and acrylic to digital. Knowing I don’t ever have a limit, creating for myself and no one else is what drives me to a finish.”

I often ask artists what their favorite food is because I’m a foodie…and I am nosey that way.  This is a food-themed art blog–loosely speaking, but I rarely publish artists’ answers. 

This time, I have to expose Catherine for what she is…a goldfish eater.  The comfort of cheese all wrapped up in a glowing, albeit tiny, smiling package.  Very telling, Ms. Roach, very telling.

Catherine Roach is currently attending The New England Art Institute in Boston for Graphic Design, and approaching her final semester in January. And I must admit that I am concerned that she will always keep her work to herself like her own private little treasure.  I am bothered because I want to own the work of Catherine Roach.  And, I believe that is the highest compliment any viewer can give any artist. 

I am a fan of taking medicine with a spoonful of sugar. Catherine, thank you for the sweet surprise.  Thank you for letting me publish just a little glimpse.  

I am inspired.

FEATURED ARTIST: Catherine Roach originally appeared on Art and Art Deadlines.com on December 6, 2009. If you are reading it on any other site, it has been stolen from Art and Art Deadlines.com.