Catherine Vella

A Sustained Joy with Catherine Vella.

How are you? How has your own creative practice and others’ art kindled your life force lately?

I am well and feeling creative.

Painting came to me instinctively during the darkest period of my life, following the loss of my daughter and while I was the victim of a toxic person. I have never painted sad subjects. On the contrary, I felt the need to show that we must hold on to nature, which remains beautiful despite everything. I am deeply sensitive to nature.

I enjoy seeing how other artists express themselves, although not every work moves me. I cannot bear morbid imagery, and I never seek to imitate any particular artist.

If you were on a magical quest to create a new masterpiece and could choose any other artist, alive now or from the past, to create with, who would you choose and why?

For this imaginary adventure, I would choose Claude Monet. I would love to exchange ideas with him about the way we see nature and light, and create a work in which our artistic sensibilities meet while each of us keeps our own identity.

In your dream world, what would be your ideal space or setting to showcase your work? Please describe.

I imagine a place that would bring together people who are questioning the meaning of life or going through difficult times. Through the subjects and colours in my paintings, I would like to share the energy I put into them, reassure people, and offer them a little comfort.

If your gallery exhibition sold out and you

could keep only one piece, which would it be, and why?

I would keep my very first painting, the one that opened the door to all the others. I painted it in 1992, during one of the most difficult periods of my life, and yet it is very joyful. At the time, while I was going through a suicidal depression, people who saw this painting told me that it showed how much I loved life. Their comments made me reflect deeply, but they also helped me hold on, so that the flame of life flickering within me would not go out. This painting holds a very special place in my heart and is now at my sister’s home.

What does nature’s creativity mean to you?

For me, nature clearly conveys a message. I have observed it closely from a very young age. Its forms, colours, and scents move me. Everything seems harmonious, and the different forms of life interact with one another.

I perceive in nature a benevolent, powerful, and intelligent order. This leads me to feel certain that nature cannot be the result of chance: it is a wonderful gift from God that fills me with love and gratitude.

Nature also gives me hope for the future. I cannot believe that such perfect wonders could be destroyed forever by humankind, or that their Creator would allow it.

As a future ancestor, what words of awareness would you share with future generations?

I would like to pass on this belief to future generations: all around us are wonders, both tiny and immense, filled with vibrant colours and beauty. Nature helps us renew our strength. We should embrace the emotions it awakens in us and draw strength from them to move forward.

This gives us the motivation to keep going and to pass love and joy on to others. It is a truth that can stand the test of time; if everyone put it into practice, it could make the world a better place and improve human relationships.

Click on Catherine's link to discover more of her delightfully colourful art so infused with joy, it surely is an antidote to any lingering gloom. You can also buy Catherine's art here; https://www.artsper.com/en-gb/contemporary-artists/france/135013/catherine-vella