The Art Experience: Comments & Testimonials

Once in a great while we do something out of the ordinary. For me, making a reservation for a private retreat with Catherine Anderson was out of the ordinary and I mean way out of the ordinary. I’m a pretty successful, employed, working artist…..why would I really need to spend a week, one on one, with an art teacher? Now, in a split second I would do it again. There are teachers, and then there are teachers, and I will never forget Catherine’s candid and unpretentious way of getting into my head and teaching me how to really paint and think as an artist. I have taken quite a few workshops and art classes, but never in my art career have I learned so much from one teacher in such a short time.

Every single day with Catherine was fabulous; an experience that changed my life. I came home with more “in my head” than I could have ever imagined. Everyday, to this day, I think about her words when I paint. Never has any instructor had such an impact on my thought process. Truly Catherine gave me so many gifts that I will use for a lifetime.

It’s really quite simple; Catherine changed the way I think and, my retreat was so much more than I ever expected. Thank you so much, and by the way, when can I come back?!

If you are serious about your art then consider a retreat with Catherine. You will learn what makes one painting interesting and another boring. You will learn to paint boldly instead of wimpy. You will learn to use masking fluid correctly, that complementary colors are more important than you thought, and what papers, pigments, and brushes will give you an advantage. You'll learn fear is bad, frustration good. You'll learn to take risks in every painting.

Then day 2 will start.

My advice? Show up with a long list of questions, reference material for what you want to paint, and take advantage of her decades of experience.

A Watershed Experience!

Catherine watches, listens and feels. It has to be an exhausting job to teach as she does. It is personal, intense yet very free. It is art expressed in teaching. She made me feel that her reward was not by the art I produce but by the way I perceived my own art to express, relieve and please myself.

My week with Catherine was a life experience not just a workshop.

She knows how to teach because she is willing to crawl inside the student and spend time looking, testing and feeling what might be there. She opens gates and helps to close others. She molds, talks softly and reassuringly. She is patient but honest. I really like honest.

Catherine watches, listens and feels. It has to be an exhausting job to teach as she does. It is personal, intense yet very free. It is art expressed in teaching. She made me feel that her reward was not by the art I produce but by the way I perceived my own art to express, relieve and please myself.

All the techniques and tools are just parts of the whole she teaches. If I learn to understand these parts first, get to know them, make friends with them and don’t let them scare me then I can use them however I choose. The most important thing Catherine gave me is the freedom to paint. Paint…. paint my heart out because that is where it comes from.

I love and admire the tender core that is Catherine. Her art springs from that part of her. I can see how she thrives in an environment surrounded by nature with space to be free, to move, to breath.

What a treasure of a teacher, an artist and a person she is. Thank you from the depth of my soul for giving me so much, so freely.

Catherine is a teacher, a friend and soul mate.

Love and thanks.

My inner voice kept telling me to go to Catherine’s retreat and I’m so glad I listened. The retreat was more than I could ever imagine! I learned so many invaluable things. Catherine and her husband Eddie are gems and went out of their way to make this week a most memorable experience. Their lovely hospitality and the nurturing environment of Catherine’s studio was exactly what I needed to get through some issues that were blocking me in my artwork. Catherine critiqued my portfolio and we both worked on and improved the paintings. She had the best art quotes printed; great tips on technique, composition, and valuable information on how judges judge competitions. She made suggestions on changing my palette and paper that I’m so much happier with. I left with frustrations transformed into patience, and fears that melted away. Her simple strategies on making time to paint are in place. I’m so grateful for a re-kindling of enthusiasm that I have been longing for.

Catherine Anderson’s week long retreat exceeded my expectations. It was the best “pre-retirement” gift I could have given myself. She is a great teacher and can personalize the week to fit your level and needs.
The first part of Monday we had a very engaging and personal conversation about why I was there, what I wanted that week, where do I want to go from here as an artist, what are my heart-felt messages that I want to say in paintings. This set the stage for the rest of the week in which Catherine taught me so many things.
I went with a list of questions and at least nine “almost done” (ha!) paintings of my own composition. Using these paintings she taught me the principles of composition, color, value, focal point, and most importantly “why am I painting this picture?” We adjusted these compositions so they were balanced. I learned how to emphasize the focal point using value and color.

Among the lessons I took home are

• About a year’s worth of my own projects to work on
• At least six different ways to use masking
• How to paint foregrounds
• How and why to spend so much time on drawing and planning your piece
• How to sign your work, front and back
• How to use dura-lar over your painting to try different things without actually painting on your paper until you are ready
• How to pay attention to negative shapes (the ONLY negative she teaches)
• How to let go of my muddy yellows

It will take me years to completely absorb everything she showed me during this week retreat. I have a better understanding of my artistic strengths and a good vision of where I want to go next. I left the week feeling not only like I’d just been in the presence of a very gifted artist, but also that I gained a friend and advisor. Thank you Catherine!

My week with Catherine:

I am a different person having spent one week with Catherine Anderson. It is called a retreat and for good reason. It truly IS a retreat. It is a time to be selfish and indulge in all the art you want... in a very relaxed atmosphere where you go at your own pace. Along with personalized critiques she shares with you the knowledge she has learned along the way.

The week with Catherine was truly the best thing I have ever done for myself. She helped me go to my inner core and my work now reflects that. Painting is no longer a struggle for me but a journey. And that is priceless....thank you, Catherine!

“What really got me going again....to create without fear but with wonderment and joy was Catherine’s idea of the monster chaser, a negative thought demolisher....those inner demons that keep us stagnant and unwilling to start.......the toy gun that I shoot to take away the “I can’t, I’m no good, I have no talent, why even start?” has been an ego booster that has sent me on my way to bigger and better things. Hip Hip Hooray!”

“Not only does Catherine teach the principles of good painting (design, composition, drawing, values, etc.) but she also brings my attention to the pure love of painting. I personally draw and paint for the joy and satisfaction and not necessarily to create masterpieces or to enter shows or to win awards. I feel this joy and satisfaction are the effects of Catherine’s attitude and mind-set that she models for me.”

“Thank you. See I finally learned how to take a complement. The week I spent with you was the most enjoyable time I have ever had. I had 5 years of art talk built up in me and no one to share it with. Finding someone with the same interests just allowed me to express all that had built up in me. It was a much needed release. The insights you gave me and your encouragement allowed me to see the artist that was in me. Before I had questioned if that person was really inside me. Dwelling on my failures and not truly appreciating my successes. Listening to myself vocalize what I had read also helped me understand how to apply those things. You helped me see myself by how you would put off painting for the inner fear of messing up or not producing a great piece of art every time. You have to make mistakes to learn and grow. You have to push yourself outside your comfort zone to reach levels higher than you have ever reached before. You helped me see that you should never give up on a painting. Through experimentation you may stumble on a new process that may produce the greatest work you have ever done.”

“I will always cherish the week we had together. I miss those talks about art and being in the company of friends with the same interests. I grew so much that week thanks to the time we had together. Keep unlocking the artist in your students. Catherine you have that key. You unlocked the artist in me.”

“Painting, philosophies, art passion, friendship -- spending five intensive painting days with Catherine was worth more than I could have learned in six months or more with anybody else. Catherine is not only a very gifted artist, willing to share her knowledge, but also a very genuine person. I was truly privileged to have studied watercolor with her.”

“Catherine Anderson is an outstanding artist and teacher. My watercolors have improved dramatically as a result of taking her weeklong workshop.”

“Catherine can teach at any level. If you’re a beginner or an advanced student, you will benefit from studying with her. She is hospitable and encouraging. Her workshop is very organized and she can adapt it to meet your particular needs.”

“She taught me many things during my week with her. For example, I learned the value of having quality tools – brushes and paints. She also shared ways to market my art.”

“Catherine loves to share what she has learned from experience and thus smooth the path for other artists. Our week together was fun and inspiring. I feel very fortunate to have studied privately with Catherine and would love to have the opportunity to do so again.”

“After an astonishing week with Catherine Anderson, my understanding of painting, my technique and motivation, soared to a new level. Catherine’s deep grasp of artistic expression and her extraordinary ability to connect with one’s own goals--to see at once the artistic vision of another and to respond with enthusiasm--is what pushed me beyond anything I had hoped to achieve. In a one-on-one situation, Catherine is phenomenal. Her talent and expertise are second to none, and she has the rare skills of a true teacher. I came away with a much refined technique, lots of practical and not-so-practical lessons, and a sense of my own artistic strengths...not to mention a wonderful advisor and friend.”

"Let me recommend an art adventure!....a week long intensive, one-on-one, watercolor class with Catherine Anderson.

First, it is FUN! Catherine encouraged me to write down my questions before I arrived. She responded to my concerns in clear, direct answers. As a nationally recognized artist (AWS, NWS) and an experienced juror, Catherine is an artist with expertise and skills, who helped take me to the next step in my artistic journey. She is a warm, loving human being who generously shares her knowledge. She gives of herself in extraordinary ways. Her positive encouragement for sweeping away my inner demons and for risk- taking set her apart from the normal run of art instructors. A week with Catherine will change your life!!!!"

"Catherine Anderson's art retreat exceeded all my expectations. She is a fabulous artist who willingly shares all her knowledge of painting. My understanding of watercolors and my techniques soared under her guidance. If you're lucky you will get to meet the whole gang. Eddie, Catherine's wonderful husband, and the dogs, Emily Dickens and Duper. Don't be afraid to take a "brain break" from painting and go shopping to an art store or just shopping or touring around. Whatever you want to do, Catherine will take you there!

Catherine does more thanteach you to paint. She teaches you to respect and appreciate yourself.I left Texas feeling like my spirit went to a spa and my talent transformed by a "Master".

I finally came to the point in my life when I wanted to restart my interests in drawing and painting. Taking a lesson every now and again just was not acceptable so I decided, after doing my homework, to take a week retreat with Catherine. The week was everything and more. I began on Monday morning with all my old work. Piece by piece, Catherine and I reviewed the paintings. We discussed how to make each better. She used her hands, her paint brushes, her skills, to show me how. And the week continued with the same non-stop, personal, hands-on approach. The time each day was intense: no interruptions, no telephones in the studio, just lunch and an afternoon break. Catherine taught me new techniques, new approaches, new ways of thinking about painting. I left Friday afternoon filled with new ideas and enthusiasm for art. Would I do it again? Yes. And I plan to.

My week long private lesson with Catherine was extraordinary. I went to primarily work on my glazing 'correcting the errors of my wars', and together we explored color beyond the theoretical. I improved my brushwork and worked on technique that remains invaluable. Catherine is a wonderfully talented successful artist who welcomed me into her life for the week, sharing her own experiences - peaks and valleys, artistic beginnings, and survival in this competitive profession. For six days I was amazed, overwhelmed and happily exhausted. Catherine thoughtfully and gently pushed me creatively beyond my expectations. She had too much to teach, and I had too much to learn and there were not enough hours in the day. She is open and honest as an artist/teacher, too often I felt she couldn't share enough with me about herself, watercolor, technique, art history and painting in general. Unlike so many artists on the workshop circuit (and I have attended my share) Catherine keeps no secrets, holds back nothing (no special color, brush or extra step so many leave out). She wants YOU to be successful in your own right.

If you need genuine support to push yourself and your art to another level, particularly beyond what you perceive as your own limits, Catherine will do her best to help you achieve. She understands how 'fear' gets in the way, and with sincerest empathy (out of her own personal experience) helps you move through the fear and well beyond it.

For me, this was the best artistic experience since professional art school (many years ago). Unlike other multiple-day workshops, I felt immersed again - thinking, breathing, sleeping and talking about ART. Catherine's lovely home is an inspirational art gallery, the walls covered with many of her deeply sensitive and emotional paintings as evidence of her keen, heartfelt awareness of atmosphere, color, subject and her ability to share these feelings with her audience.

I felt then and continue to feel that my week with Catherine was a gift. She shared her art, her experience, her studio, her deeply special love of Eddie and her animals. For this time, and our continued relationship, I will always be grateful.

PS: I can't wait to return.

For more information, or to arrange a Private Retreat, please email Catherine Directly: h2oclrz@aol.com