Catharine English

Throughout her life Catharine observed, painted, recorded, drew, stitched and wrote. She leaves a huge legacy of drawings, paintings, quilts  (the US influence), poetry and prose. While in Rickmansworth (85-92)  hardly a day passed without a poem and perhaps a painting appearing; she said they wrote themselves - and then one day, “they’ve stopped. Gone” - though more appeared in Cornwall. Her poetry is deeply influenced by her religious beliefs, and also illustrates her natural tendency to depression. Much of her work in all media came from internal conflict - with bursts of joyous frivolity. 

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Botany is a theme that runs throughout - perhaps half of all her art - and she was seldom as happy as in a garden, coaxing and loving plants into bloom. She would paint a plant realistically; then stylise it, then experiment with patterns from plant design, then flip to the surreal. She would use pen, pencil, watercolour, charcoal, crayon, oil with brush or knife, as the mood or the subject demanded. After some evenings at Hornsea Art College, apart from occasional local art classes she was largely self taught, developing her own techniques, with a natural sense of form and colour.