CATHRYN MILES Country Houses Miles’ clever use of abstraction gives her landscapes a dreamlike quality that suggests places and times in a distant memory.  She draws inspiration from her surroundings and her keen sense of observation.  Image:  Image:  Image:  House and Barn By the Way I, Sold By the Way II, Sold By the Way III, Sold By the Way IV, Sold A Man In Front of His House, Sold A Man by His House Figure by Houses House and Tree, Sold Man and Woman in Yard House and Barn Artist's Biography Cathryn Miles likes to do quick sketches or watercolors on site and then return to the studio to build the sketches into compositions.  Each painting begins with a gestural framework which is filled in with numerous layers of paint.  This gives Miles’ work its rich surface, full of visible brush work.  “The brushwork is as much a part of the subject matter as it is the process,” she tells us.  The edges of underlying layers of paint are allowed to show through to enhance the texture and also to create subtle directional lines.  She cites a wide range of art historical references that include painters from the late 19th century as well as contemporary California artists like Richard Diebenkorn and Elmer Bischoff.  Now, after painting “quasi-traditional” landscapes for years, Miles has developed her own painting language which combines both traditional and contemporary elements. The overall effect is one of ambiguous imagery, full of light, edges, and shadows.  Miles likes to temper formality by following her instinct, which results in her use bold use of color and shape.  The two words that always come to mind when we describe her new work are honest and fresh.  It’s honest because there is an emotional quality to it, something that is vividly personal and unique.  And it’s fresh because it has that effect on us.  It feels delightfully intuitive, unencumbered and original.  Unapologetically, her work makes us feel good and we love it.  Miles received a MFA in painting and drawing from the University of Houston, as well as a BFA in printmaking from the Atlanta College of Art.  She has participated in solo and group shows around the country and internationally, and her work is shown in numerous corporate collections.