about catherine        back to homepage

catherine beale was born in 1969 into a creative family. she grew up in peaceful rural wiltshire with its stone circles and chalk "white horses". her school fostered the arts where she gained A'Level art, painted theatre sets and reached rsm grade 8 in violin and viola. as a student she worked holidays at a gallery with Avebury's stone circles. after a degree and a spell travelling africa and working for a craft co-operative in botswana, she built up an early business career in london. 
in 1996 she moved to asia and started to paint full time. she has shown at numerous events, held three solo exhibitions and built up a large volume of commissioned work. 
returning to bath in 2006, catherine is newly inspired by her surroundings and love of painting. she has exhibited with the Old Bakery Artists Group at galleries and events in Bath and Somerset.

exhibitions: click here for exhibition news
1998 Solo exhibition, British High Commissioner’s Residence, Singapore.
1999 Solo exhibition, Caldwell House Gallery, Singapore.
2005 Solo exhibition: warmth & colour - an artists journey through south east asia. The Courtyard Garden, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (pictured right.)
2007 Group exhibition: Bath Society of Artists Summer Exhib. Victoria Art Gallery, Bath, UK. Group exhibition Old Bakery Artists (OBA) Hole in The Wall Midsomer Norton. 
2008 OBA Mells Daffodil Day, Guildhall Bath, Rook Lane Chaple Frome, Bath Theatre Vaults, Nunney Fair, Radstock Museum, Royal United Hospital Bath.

commissions:
British High Commission (Singapore)*, Singapore British Club (pictured right), Asia-Europe Foundation, HSBC, Banc National de Paris, Caltex, Lafarge, Reuters, Ms Joaquim (Singapore retailers), Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary (Malaysia). Private collections worldwide.
*print gifted to HRH Prince Edward

about the subjects in her paintings:
Catherine undertakes commissions of people and house portraits. She gravitates towards large, brightly coloured oils on canvas but her work spans many media from pencil portraits, pastels and pen and ink, to bold watercolours and large acrylics.
Catherine’s non-commissioned subjects are influenced by a combination of living eleven years within the exciting cultural mix of South East Asia, and the rural landscape of South West England. She paints in vivid hues and bright, positive sunlight.
Catherine’s interest in heritage architecture is reflected in her paintings of south east asia's disappearing buildings and landmarks. she is known in singapore for her studies of chinese and indian shophouses (pictured right) and colonial bungalows. her paintings form a record of the excitement and the pitfalls of se asia's transition towards "developed status". future uk works capture rural scenes juxtaposed with the impact of change.  Her work can also be "thought-filled" - footprints on a deserted beach, a monk gazing from the ruins of Angkor Wat, Cambodia. This atmosphere may have its roots in her childhood spent overlooked by Wiltshire’s majestic Salisbury Plain. At other times Catherine gives herself up to the joy of brush and paint with close-ups of tropical flowers or painted walls in concentrated colour.

volunteering:
catherine regularly donates her time, designs and % sales to charities and schools including:
St Julians Primary School Wellow (christmas cards pictured)
KanLungan Centre for street children – Philippines;
Riding for the Disabled – Malaysia & Singapore; 
Lighthouse Children’s House – KL; 
Nalwanga School – Uganda; 
Kuala Ganda Elephant Sanctuary – Malaysia (mural pictured right) 

recent projects include Bath's King Bladud's Pig Project where she designed and coordinated the decoration of one of one hundred pigs with school children. the pig shelters in St Julian's church Wellow and it will be auctioned off for charity in october 2008.

purchasing catherine’s work:
call her studio near Bath on 01225 832156 or 07891 409490
visit the outlets listed
email her directly on catherine@catherinebeale.com
this website features virtual galleries of catherine's commissioned portraits, original paintings, prints and cards of bath, somerset, malaysia and singapore. 

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