Catherine Macaulay was born in Swift Current, Saskatchewan and grew up on a farm northwest of that city. After obtaining a B.A. from the University of Saskatchewan and a Library Science degree from the University of Alberta, she worked in public library systems in Nova Scotia and in Saskatchewan for a dozen years. It was while working for the Regina Public Library that she began taking evening art classes offered by University of Regina Extension. Those experiences, as well as an intensive two-week studio program at the Summer School of the Arts, solidified her desire to explore art making more deeply.
Catherine moved back to Saskatoon and obtained an Honours degree in Studio Art and Art History. She maintained an active studio practice there before reclaiming her country roots, moving to a small acreage on the Frenchman River just outside of the village of Val Marie, Saskatchewan, on the edge of Grasslands National Park.
Catherine has exhibited across western Canada and in Scotland and Ireland, and is represented in public and private collections across the country and overseas.
Her work draws from natural world experience; through images of growth, she explores shadows and light and intensity of colour. “My process has evolved as an interpretation of a close-up landscape that comes out of my experience in that landscape. I’ve always worked in watercolour, and love to find that sweet spot between being in control and letting the paint and paper take me to unexpected places.”