ARTIST BIO

Cathy van Ee is an established artist and designer with a diverse range of image making skills honed over thirty years of experience in industry and the arts. Cathy specialises in oil and pastel painting practicing these mediums in portraiture, landscape, still life, and life drawing.

Cathy’s professional career began with a degree in Art and Design at Swinburne Technical College in 1982, and progressed with her being recruited by the Herald Sun Magazine Department, illustrating for Home Beautiful and Epicure Magazines. In 1986 Cathy was recruited by Penguin Books Australia where she spent eight years as a book designer and illustrator designing book covers, culminating in her winning the Australian Book Design Awards in 1992. In 1994 Cathy was appointed Manager of the Art Department in Philatelic for Australia Post, with responsibility for selecting designers and artists from around Australia to create artworks for Australian postage stamps. It was during this period under Cathy’s design leadership that Australia Post was awarded the “Most Beautiful Stamp in the World” for its Michael Lunig stamp design.

Living in Europe, Cathy’s career began to change in the early 2000’s where she began to concentrate more on her own career as an artist both in Australia and overseas. Based back in Melbourne, in 2004 Cathy accepted a role to manage the struggling Walker Street Gallery for the City of Greater Dandenong and develop Exhibition Programs for emerging and well-known artists, and co-ordinate community art projects for the city. Within two years, Walker Street Gallery grew from a small community gallery to a recognised regional gallery south of Melbourne exhibiting such artists as  Bruce Postle (prolific photo journalist), Brian Dunlop (Australian realist artist), Chris O’Doherty (a.k.a. Reg Mombasa artist and musician), and internationally acclaimed children's illustrators Terry Denton and Alison Lester with exhibition bookings over two years in advance.

In 2007/8 Cathy undertook a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, and a new career as teacher, demonstrator and workshop facilitator began. Cathy has been teaching for ten years at Peninsula Art Society, and more recently at Mentone/Mordialloc Art Society and McClelland Guild of Artists. She has held demonstrations and workshops at Peninsula Art Society, the Australian Guild of Realist Artists (AGRA), McClelland Guild of Artists, Berwick Art Society, the Pastel Society of Victoria, The Victorian Art Society, Ringwood Art Society, Brialyn Boat House Gallery, Australian Oz Art Gallery and various Rotary Art shows around Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula, as well as published articles in Australian Artist Magazine, and various art society magazines. Cathy is the first Australian artist invited to demonstrate an oil painting from a life model at the prestigious Camberwell Art Show.

Cathy’s art continues to gain recognition through solo and group exhibitions, and commission work portraying CEO's, school headmasters, and historical events - a major piece being the Castlemaine Football / Netball Clubs 150^th Anniversary portrait honouring past and present greats, currently hung for public viewing in the Market Building, Castlemaine, Victoria. Cathy continues to develop her skills working and training with well known artists both locally and overseas, including studying oil painting with David Leffel, Sherrie Mc Graw and Jacqueline Kamin at the Scottsdale School of Art in Arizona.

Cathy’s art is currently exhibited at the OZ Art Gallery in Frankston. Cathy runs four classes a week in oil portrait, pastel portrait, and pastel landscape at Peninsula Art Society and Mentone Mordialloc Art Group.

View Cathy's work at www.vaneegallery.net or search Cathy van Ee Gallery on Facebook.

To enquire ph: 0413 337 024 or email cathy@vaneegallery.net.