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Courtesy of Cate West Zahl -
Courtesy of Cate West Zahl -
Courtesy of Cate West Zahl
Virginia-based fine painter Cate West Zahl counts the dunes of the Hamptons, the work of Wayne Thiebaud, and a love of interior design as her greatest inspirations. The result? Work that is at once expressive, dynamic, and perfectly wall-friendly.
My favorite painter is (obviously) Richard Diebenkorn — I am perpetually referring to his work and all that it informs about the technicalities of expression. Other favorites include Giorgio Morandi, Fairfield Porter, Cy Twombly, Sean Scully, and Wayne Thiebaud.
I work in this palette because…
The cooler, subtle palette that usually emerges in my work comes from an attempt to leave only what is necessary on the canvas. Often times, I use bold colors in the beginning layers of a piece. But as the process of painting ensues, I layer in planes of whites, grays, cool blues and greens, leaving the dramatic bits peeping through. I want my pieces to live nicely on the wall in the home; having a mix of drama and peace lends itself to this goal.
My medium of choice…
I work with oil, charcoal, graphite and have recently gotten into oil crayon. My surfaces of choice are panel and canvas.
My thematic inspirations…
I have always been inspired by the architectonic lines of Long Island, especially the Hamptons, where my grandparents have a house — we visit every summer. The summer dunes and winter dunes are burned in my mind: those subtle, seafoam colors juxtaposed against the hay-like yellows and ochres of the dunes.
How well a piece will hang in a home. As the daughter of an interior designer (Washington D.C.- based Ann West) and a former decorating editor, I have always been interested in all things decor, especially the ways in which artistic expression can be found in the choices people make appointing their homes.
Imperfection in art is more interesting than perfection because…
The physical immediacy of drawing allows me to attack spaces on the surface, and the traces of that struggle track the time, mistakes, initial choices, and relentless revisions used to arrive at a resolved composition. In other words: evidence of artistic process mirrors life.
Lately I’ve been obsessed with…
In between making large abstracts, I always go back to the figure. I have a “lady in hat” series that’s actually my personal favorite groupings of paintings…they’re inspired by my grandmothers.