Catherine Temple is a wildlife and pet portrait artist
residing in Eastern Washington. She is within easy reach of scenic mountains,
beautiful rivers and diverse wildlife and when not in her studio she can be
found exploring this wondrous area with sketchbook and camera searching for the
subject of her next painting. That subject could be one of the many bird
species common to the area, big game animals or the loving, domestic companions
that share the lives of so many of us.
Catherine developed her love of art and animals as a child
growing up in rural Illinois on her family’s farm/game farm. Her father had a
passion for raising exotic animals such as flamingos and sika deer in the
backyard alongside the more common cows and chickens, giving her ample
opportunity to study and draw a variety of animals first hand. As an adult she
continued practicing her art and improving her skills by studying biology and
taxidermy to better understand the anatomy of the birds and animals she loved
to paint. When she and her husband acquired their first hunting dog, a
Chesapeake Bay Retriever named Jake, a deep bond was formed between the two.
Inspired by this bond she shared with her pet, she painted his portrait and
soon discovered there were others that loved their pets as much as she did.
This opened up a whole new direction for her art and she has since created
dozens of portraits for pet owners all across the country.
Catherine prefers to create her paintings with water media
(acrylic, watercolor and gouache) or graphite in a realistic manner. She
usually keeps the backgrounds subtle and focuses the detail on the bird or
animal she’s painting. The eyes are almost always completed first as she
believes this brings the spirit and character of the animal to life and this is
usually what people viewing her paintings comment on first, that the eyes
capture and hold their attention.
Catherine is the 2017/2018 winner of the Delaware Duck Stamp
contest. Her art has been included in both solo and group shows and her
portraits and bird art are in numerous private collections across the country.
Her artwork can be viewed at www.catherinetemple.com.