Catherine Simpson
Celebrating Beauty
Artist Statement
I am first a student of the natural world around us, cultivated by spending lots of time during my formative years wandering in the woods around my home and time with National Geographic (and the amazing photos) on rainy days. There is a math gene in my family of engineers that I missed. Despite that omission, I find myself seeing the geometry of everything first—the arcs, lines, shapes, and how they all amazingly fit together into what we often
don’t notice in the familiar, taken-for-granted surroundings of our daily rush. I have a foundational belief in the purposeful design and order in nature and endeavor to share the beauty and harmony I see in the subtleties of detail around us. I want to communicate that sense of design and wonder I feel with every image I record.
I have always been a student of nature, but not always a photographer. I dabbled with it during college, but didn’t get back to it until after raising my family. I renewed a passion to record what I see. Some of my work is as local as my backyard, some on world travels. Some images are taken in the ordered randomness of nature, some man-made, some in the tension between the two.
Artist Biography
Catherine was nurtured in rural Western Washington surrounded by a few thousand acres of forest and wetland that served as her playground. Post college she dabbled with photography, but life and family put it on the back burner until early in the new millennium. The hobby began to reflect Catherine’s love for the outdoors. While working in a commercial lab, she noticed images she had in her own files were comparable to those of professional photographers, in spite of being self-taught. A couple reviewed her work and convinced her she had something to contribute.
Her images have evolved to reflect her fascination with the created world. This, in itself, is an outgrowth of her foundational belief in purposeful design and order evident in nature. Her goal in her images is to portray the beauty and intricate complexities that mirror the Designer and evoke a sense of wonder at what surrounds us and is underfoot. Her pictures include minute details in macro shots to panoramic scenes, with a few man-made structures thrown in for good measure.
Catherine now lives in Phoenix with her husband (and computer expert), and close to their grandchildren.
Contact Info:
Email: simpsonimg@gmail.com