About me

Meet Catherine

Born in Belgium, I have been living in British Columbia since 2010, having been attracted by the natural beauty and the open landscape of the province. As a visual artist for the last 25 years, I enjoy exploring different styles and mediums: oil, acrylic, acrylic gouache, dry pastel on paper, canvas, and wood. My creations reflect the expression of my actual life experiences, although a quest for light and refinement has always accompanied my work.

I began by studying human portraits, navigated into the depths of abstraction, and recently found my way back to animal depictions. I travelled from large size canvas to mini size ornament, then loving details features. In a few words, I can trace my guide lines as an attempt to capture the glow of the soul, as my spiritual journey.

 Nature inspires.

Catherine Roland

Biography

This short video features my biography, accompanied by photos.

Meet our Artist

I am inspired and guided by the animals and nature around me.  

My timeline

2021-2024

British Columbia, Canada

Figurative and detailed studies of animal portraits  with acrylic gouache on wood.

2016-2020

British Columbia, Canada

Figurative studies of landscapes, animals and plants with oil on canvas.

2015

Belgium

Exhibition in Peruwelz, "Au Rendez-vous des couleurs".

2012

Belgium

Exhibition in Quevaucamps; awarded first prize in pastels.

2010, 2011

British Columbia, Canada

Exhibition "Glimpse of Life" in Williams Lake, BC at the Station House Gallery. Exhibitions at the French Cultural Center "Au fil des rencontres..." in Vancouver, BC.

2005, 2007

Belgium

Exhibition "Par delà les confins de l'est-asiatique" in Peruwelz, Belgium Exhibition “Mémoires d’un instant” in Tournai, Belgium

2001-2005

Asia

Four years living in Asia (India, Nepal, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, China, Myanmar), discovering different cultures and spiritual beliefs, sketching and painting along the way.

2001

Quebec, Canada

Continuing education at the University of Laval. Exploration of color, introduction to oil painting, introduction to acrylic.

2001

Tibet

While traveling through the sacred lands of Tibet, I went to Mount Kailash. It all became clear to me while I was up there, and I made a wish to become a professional artist.

1998-2001

Quebec, Canada

Period of artistic training at the Art School of Montreal. Pencil and charcoal drawing (portraits, studio studies). Clay sculpture.

1993

Belgium

Before immersing myself in art, I studied Western medicine to become a doctor. After several years of learning, I decided to seek some answers about my destiny.

1972

Belgium

I was born in Tournai, Belgium.

Publications

All of the cards redirect to publications connected with my exhibitions.

Williams Lake 2011

This card redirects to an article about "A glimpse of life".

vancouver 2010

This card redirects just below, to an invitation to "Au fil des rencontres".

Beef in BC

This card redirects just below, to a transcription of an article appearing in the Beef in BC magazine.

Peruwelz 2005

This card redirects just below, to an article about my exposition in the "Cellier", in Peruwelz.

Transcribed

This card redirects to a folder containing transcriptions of these articles.

Exposition in the Centre culturel de Vancouver in 2010

Beef

in BC

CATHERINE ROLAND Connecting Energy Through Creation

Born in Belgium, Catherine has travelled the world exploring, learning and appreciating its beauty and soaking up the arts and culture. More than twenty years ago, she moved to Quebec. For the last nine years she has been living in a quiet valley in the Cariboo region. "I always saw myself living somewhere other than in Europe and life in British Columbia offers me the path to beautiful nature which keeps me here. My partner, originally from Tatlayoko Lake, BC, our nine year old son and I enjoy getting out and exploring nature; hiking, cross country skiing or biking, connecting with animals and practicing yoga. Once a year we visit Europe to reconnect with my family, discover new areas and immerse in the arts and culture." As an oil painter and pastel artist, Catherine considers art as her career, her life's passion and her joy. "It is not easy to live as an artist, but it is worth it. I think that art expression needs to be brought back into everyone's life to feed our souls." In her childhood Catherine enjoyed colouring and drawing. "I remembered when I was little, I was drawing a big sky above some grassland. Then I coloured the sky in green and the grass in blue. My grandfather was quite surprised, thinking I was mixing up the colours. He became even more surprised when I told him that it was on purpose."

Art has not always been the career path for Catherine. "Before immersing myself in the art realm, I studied western medicine in Belgium to become a doctor. I successfully finished five years of medical school but when practice in the hospital became a big part of our training, I realized that it was not my calling. My sensitivity was pushed away and every day I was feeling further away from my true self. So I gathered all my courage, and stopped my studies at that point." Seeking some answers Catherine travelled, finding work abroad as a medical assistant; but always in search of what she was going to do next. "I had no idea that there was an artist living inside of me. I did not feel that it was my path at that time. I was looking for something more tangible. While travelling the sacred lands of Tibet, we went to Kailash Mountain. It all became clear to me as we were up there, and I made a wish to become a professional artist." "Back in Quebec, I started my formal artistic training and it filled my heart. I had been waiting so long for that new start. Being able to learn something that made me happy was such a treasure and joy." Catherine attended the Art School of Montreal where she studied drawing with pencil and charcoal as well as clay sculpting. She then furthered her studies at the University of Laval in Quebec in the exploration of colour, oil painting, and acrylic initiation.

For the past 20 years, Catherine has preferred painting on cotton canvas with oils. When she travels, she uses dry pastels on paper. When she started her painting journey, her subject matter was mostly portraits, but over time and inspired by energy her paintings became more abstract as an expression of her spirituality. "A few years ago, another shift happened and I am back enjoying portraits. I love to create portraits of animals, landscapes and flowers. I create from a feeling inside of myself when I am somewhere or connecting with an animal, I see the energy that I want to capture and it is that life that I express on canvas. I do not see myself as an animal artist though. My portraits are not a precise picture of the animal, it is more like the expression of their light according to my senses. I enjoy taking pictures of a scene, from far or from close. I feel the lines of the composition, the light... the magic living in the future creation. Then the movement and the harmony of colours are introduced." When asked about her creative process, Catherine explains it is a form of meditation with herself. She starts with connecting and feeling the energy of the subject or the place she is inspired to paint. "The landscape paintings I create are inspired by places I have been, there is always a memory behind my paintings. When I paint a portrait, I feel I am literally connected with the energy of the animal. When I start a new canvas, I always take the time to meditate and bring life to it. I choose one of my photos to reference, then sketch a couple of lines, or just a general perception of what it is going to be. After that I can start to feel the magic moving in. It is so fascinating; it is like giving life."

She continues, "After that, I start to paint all the scene at once. Let it dry, start over again, and that's my second coat. It is, at that time, that you see the beauty of the oil. Everything changes, it becomes more fluid, translucent. The colours change with the oil, the fluidity appears too. It is a fascinating medium. Some parts will need a third or fourth coat. By painting two or three hours per day, sharing my time with other activities these recent years, it takes weeks and weeks of work, sometime months and months depending of the size of the canvas." "When my creation is completed, I will give it a title. Most of the time the name comes to me as I am painting. Often I will write the text about my creation, it can be some words about my own perception of my creation in the form of a poem or a narration. When I use dry pastels, the process is a lot faster, these drawings capture the scene with not so many details involved." When asked what her favourite piece is, she refers to one of her paintings called The Golden Trio. "We got to share some time with three miniature ponies, painting them was an honour. I enjoyed finding space within the painting to compose differently. Adding beads at the end was like sewing jewels among them. I finished that creation just before travelling to Andalusia, in the south of Spain. When we came back, I felt as if the Andalusian culture was already present in the painting. I love the mix of those three mini horses in that other culture; it made me think about three souls united through time, and travelling across the Universe. They trace in me the memory of the Ancestors of Horses."

When Catherine is not painting, she is busy homeschooling her son in French while her husband teaches his part in English. "We are homeschooling Paolo, our son, which is a fantastic adventure, the French and English cultures mix together in our home." She also practices as an energetic healing therapist with people and animals. "My approach is based on meditation; I practice a couple hours a week." If you would like to see more of Catherine's work you can visit her displays in many businesses around Williams Lake. She has her creations, and cards, which are prints of her artwork at Cameron's Massage and Wellness, the Bean Counter, the Station House Gallery and at Sta-Well Health Food store in town. She also has cards and paintings on display at the Willow River B&B and Traditional Arts School in Horsefly. Her work is on display in another permanent gallery in Peruwelz, Belgium. Presently most of her sales and interest come from her website and her Facebook Page Catherine Roland Artist. If you would like to connect with Catherine about a commissioned piece or some of her paintings you can reach her by email at catherineroland@live.fr for more information.

Exposition au cellier in 2005