The website of the National Acrylic Painters’ Association. A non-profit making group organised by artists for artists
NAPA
National Acrylic Painters’ Association
Catherine Taylor Parry
I left school with a paintbrush in my hand and have rarely
put it down since. I work in rural Wales, surrounded by
my atmospheric canvases. My work is a personal response
to landscape. A fleeting moment captured from a passing
glimpse of the ice covered mountain, the flash of an
orange soaked sky or the silence and stillness of shining
sand and mist covered water. I use colour and texture to
create images full of atmosphere and memory.
I use acrylics which I have used for many years, as I love
its qualities of manipulation, flexibility and colour.
Despite having MS since 1996, I am breaking through my
boundaries with bursts of colour and light.
My work is inspired by the mountains, fields and
coast. I am interested in creating paintings that evoke a
mood. I paint ethereal objects which can be open to the
viewers’ interpretation. I paint suggestions of ‘people’
viewing or involved in the scene, or remnants of a
memory from the past.
Although my access to the countryside is limited,
my work reflects the distant view or the obstacles which
are in my way. Shapes of stiles or circles of wheels can
sometimes be seen. I love using colour and the enjoy
letting the paint help to create the image. I am excited by
using colours together both subdued and strong, using
acrylics, but I am happy using layers of colour and texture
to create the images I want. When not painting these I
create 3D work using wheelchairs and parts from a
wheelchair, walking sticks and lights.
I have been exhibiting and working as a professional
artist since leaving Art College in 1997, where I achieved
a BA hons Degree in Fine Art/Painting and a PGCE in Art
and Design in 1999.
I had to take a prolonged break after several severe
MS attacks, when I was too ill to use a brush or pencil. By
2000 I started again and set up a group of seven working
artists called ‘Enableartists’ who have MS or were
affected by MS, I arranged a tour around the UK for two
years. I also continued showing my own work, which at
the time was involved with erosion, renewal and decay. I
had a daughter in 2003 and as she has got older I have
concentrated on my work.
My creative life is who I am. It sustains me and
makes me feel whole.
Wales