I am inspired by my daily life in an urban landscape, the sidewalk cracks, the grid of windows in a skyscraper, the bold graphics of advertising. I am drawn to worn, tattered posters on telephone poles, with their fragments of text and letter forms, the expressive gestures of graffiti artists; the overall busyness of the urban existence.

I also love the pattern and repetition of textile design. This influence shows up especially in my acrylic paintings which often take on a “quilt like” quality,  but also in the hand painted papers I create for my mixed media collage pieces.

I work intuitively, placing trust in the process. I am always on the lookout for happy accidents, the chance combinations of materials and color that lead to new understandings of the world around me.

“By incorporating materials that are inextricably linked to the realities of daily life, the artist establishes an immediate identification, both real and imagined, between the viewer and the work of art.” Pavel Zoubok

I am a mixed media artist working mainly with acrylic paint and collage elements both found and created by me specifically for my work.

Cathy Casteel, San Diego, California

For more information about my work, please contact me through my website:

www.cathycasteel.com