About the Artist
It is about the Light
Learning by Doing
While still in high school, she was selected, along with five other art students, to study with artists in residence at the National Gallery of Fine Arts and the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. She completed three semesters in this program which entailed traveling to the galleries via public transportation two days a week instead of attending regular classes at the high school, all the while keeping up with regular school work.
Kauffman says she knew she wanted to be an artist in high school and was especially intrigued with portraiture. “I drew all the time and filled many sketchbooks. I remember my first art lesson in high school which involved drawing the back of another student’s head and hair with a Flair pen. When we revealed our drawings to each other, I realized I was way ahead of the other kids in the class and believed I might have some skill other people did not.”
Having virtually an unlimited access to the Smithsonian art galleries in Washington, DC as a young person, Kauffman fell in love with the work of Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, John Singer Sargent, and Joaquin Sorollo. She landed summer jobs at the Smithsonian (the Museum of History & Technology) her junior and senior year of high school and freshman year of college and spent her lunch breaks prowling the halls of the galleries on the Mall.
Kauffman was both encouraged and discouraged from following an artistic path as her parents feared that she would be unable to make a decent living from art alone. However, they did allow her to attend Virginia Commonwealth University as a Painting and Print Making Major following her graduation from high school.
In addition to the many high school art classes which included stage design, painting, print making, pottery and weaving and basic drawing and the program at the Smithsonian galleries, Kauffman entered VCU with the intent of pursuing a degree in art. She took art appreciation and several design classes, a life drawing class and an acrylic abstract painting class. However, none of her courses focused on portraiture, her first love; and oil painting would not be introduced until her senior year and she became discouraged by instructors who pushed students to plan for a career in teaching or commercial design as opposed to becoming a fine artist. As part of her core courses, she took a class on public relations and decided to change majors and schools and transferred. She graduated from Radford University with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism.
She did not actively pursue art again other than through a bevy of craft projects and teaching her own children to draw. When her youngest was in high school she joined a local weaving and spinning guild and her love of color reawakened. She purchased some pastels and began drawing again. She has since picked up oil painting and pastel painting and has studied with Nana Lauer, Brenda Sylvia, Patrick Saunders and Liz Haywood-Sullivan, Thomas Bradshaw, and Doug Mock.
Kauffman’s subject matter varies across several interests and includes still life paintings, family portraits, and landscapes as well as animal portraits. She does some work with plein air painting as a way to increase her speed but also to help her learn to look closely. Her still life paintings in pastel have helped strengthen her drawing skills
Her animal portraits began as a way to preserve memories of beloved family pets but branched into wild birds and animals as her love of bird watching and conservation developed. “I think people take wild birds for granted and need to see them up close and bring them into their homes, so they appreciate what they bring to the world. My dad was always a bird watcher and a great supporter of conservation efforts and public parks. He instilled in me a love of nature and respect for wildlife and birds and the land where they live.”
Kauffman’s studio landscape paintings often reference her plein air work and are enhanced using photos she has taken. “I came back to the landscapes because of my bird paintings. I realized that the birds live in these landscapes and if we don’t try to preserve them, our wildlife will eventually disappear.”
Kauffman is currently working on the development of a limited palette that best captures for her the greens, yellows, reds and violets in the coastal Virginia land and waterways.
Kauffman’s studio is currently located on the second floor of her home near Burgess, VA. Kauffman’s studio and home was originally occupied by her mother, a colored pencil artist and water colorist.
Kauffman is a founding member of the Northern Neck Plein Air Group. She joined the Oil Painters of America and the Portrait Society of America in 2019. She is also a member of the RAL Art Center. She is a member of the Northern Neck Artisan Trail Network and her studio is open to the public if they call ahead.
She has acquired a number of awards over the last several years. Most recently, she was awarded Second Place at the RAL Art center 63rd Labor Day Show for her painting called "A Minimalist's Hydrangea". Prior to that she was awarded First Place at the RAL Art Center 2019 Labor Day Show for her painting, "Williamsburg Craftsman." She also won the 2019 People’s Choice Award by the Mid-Atlantic Pastel Society at their “Peaceful Show” for her pastel painting At Hug Point. She won First Prize in the Rappahannock Art League: “Fur, Feathers and Fins Show 2018” for Raccoon; Honorable Mention in the Rappahannock Art League “Near and Far Show 2017” for Rocky Mountain Meadow; First Prize in the Rappahannock Art League “You Be the Judge Show 2017” for Baby Carrots; Honorable Mention in the Mid-Atlantic Pastel Society Show at the Cultural Arts Center-Glen Allen 2017 for Pizza Sauce Futures, Honorable Mention in the Rappahannock Art League Labor Day Show 2016 for Grenadier. Kauffman also had seven of her bird paintings exhibited as part of the “Little Gems Show” at the Stewart Gallery on Main Street in Gloucester, VA in 2018. She was one of seven artists represented in that show. Kauffman’s studio was accepted in 2018 as part of the Northern Neck Artisan Trail and is featured on their website.
Kauffman's series of "The People of Colonial Williamsburg" was part of a two-artist show at the Stewart Gallery May of 2020.
“My mission is to capture and share the beauty that surrounds us and to help viewers of my work see things they might otherwise over look.”
Cate Kauffman
1499 Pumpkin Hill Road
Heathsville, VA 22473
804-450-2652
