I grew up in the ancient port town of Gravesend in North Kent, experiencing a more urban than rural childhood but with the freedom, as was common in the late sixties, to roam and play outside all day. This, combined with a home full of books, visits to museums and galleries, outings to castles and prehistoric sites fuelled my imagination.
As a child I was lucky enough to be a precocious reader. I galloped through Grimm (with terror at my heels), constantly revisited the melancholy world of Hans Christian Andersen and gleefully recited the poetry of AA Milne and Spike Milligan. I was drawn into the worlds of John Masefield, L.M Boston, Eleanor Farjeon, Elizabeth Goudge, C.S. Lewis and the mighty Alan Garner, stories infused with layers of myth, archetype, and magic.
Having studied A-level Art, English Literature and History, I trained in Fine Art Painting at Central School of Art in London. I fell in love with Central the moment I set foot in it. The serious grandeur of the building, its sweeping staircases, massive studios and the seductive smell of oil paint and egg and chips completely entranced me. After three hard but amazing years, where I learnt how to paint and how to make mistakes, I was only certain that I was ready to leave city life. My parents had moved down to the Kent/Sussex border so I went ‘home’ and my love affair with the countryside began.
The change from living in the town to the countryside, exchanging the noise and bustle for trees and quiet was like a balm. Bruised from the intensity of the degree I went back to drawing: still-life full of fruits and patterned fabric, my family, myself, the cat. I baked cakes, and tried to make sense of everything. As I worked and walked, I became aware of the landscape around me, finding the cycles of the lengthening and shortening days reassuring as I tuned into myself. I read, becoming increasingly fascinated by folklore, the Green Man, and the earthy magic of the hare. I discovered Ted Hughes and looked afresh at the Neo-Romantic painters of the 20th century who had looked back at the vision and poetry of William Blake and Samuel Palmer and created new images conveying a personal, internal sense of place.
Being in the landscape, my paintings and drawings developed, filling with symbols and archetypes real and imagined, layering meanings to create atmosphere. Above all, I fell in love with night and the liminal spaces where the edges seem tremulous and uncertain.
For over forty years, I have worked to create images that celebrate the cycle of the seasons and express the wonder I felt as a child hearing the blackbird’s song strike colour into a gloomy afternoon and watching the moon rise over the garden wall.
Moving to Helston in 2001 with my husband and two daughters was a dream fulfilled. Cornwall is a land of light and shadow filled with myths, songs, and stories. Its ancient stones, sea mists, and secret woodlands are a constant source of inspiration and joy.
BOOKS
With my love of books and children’s literature, it is not surprising that I am drawn toward Fine Art Illustration. In 2009, I was asked to create a series of paintings in response to Carol Ann Duffy’s fairytale, The Princess’ Blankets. This was a groundbreaking project for me, and since then I have become increasingly interested in exploring the connection between words and images. I have grown to see them as complementary and vital parts of each other and how I express myself.
For the past two years, I have also been learning the craft of photography. This way of capturing light and creating atmosphere has become an obsession, a passionate delight that further enhances my vision.
MIXED AND SOLO SHOWS
Ainscough Contemporary London
Beaux Art Bath
Charleston Farmhouse Sussex
Elementum Gallery, Sherborne
Falmouth Art Gallery
Foss Fine Art London
Illustration Gallery London
Iona House Gallery Woodstock
John Noott Gallery, Broadway
Lemon Street Gallery Truro
Lighthouse Gallery, Penzance
Mall Galleries London
Towner Gallery Eastbourne
Tree Gallery Morvah Cornwall
Twenty Twenty Gallery Much Wenlock
BOOKS
DARKLING, THE OWL’S SONG
Apollo (an imprint of Bloomsbury) Non fiction: Nature poetry
‘Pairing stunning art with lyrical poetry, this ode to the owl is deeply compelling on multiple levels’ Barnes and Noble
‘Prize-winning poet and artist Catherine Hyde celebrates the magic of the night from dusk till dawn’ Apollo
‘Darkling is a magnificent praise song that honours both the darkness and the owl. Lyrical in both word and image, it is a wild triumph.’ Jackie Morris
THE BEE AND THE SUN
The Bee and The Sun: a calendar of herbs by Catherine Hyde: Zephyr 2021
Winner of the Holyer an Gof Award for Poetry
THE HARE AND THE MOON
The Hare and the Moon by Catherine Hyde:Zephyr
THE STAR TREE
The Star Tree by Catherine Hyde: Frances Lincoln
Shortlisted for the 2017 Cambridgeshire Children’s Picture Book Award
Nominated for The Kate Greenaway Award
LITTLE EVIE IN THE WILD WOOD
Little Evie in the Wild Wood by Jackie Morris: Frances Lincoln
Nominated for the Kate Greenaway Award
FIREBIRD
Firebird by Saviour Pirrotta: Templar
Awarded an Aesop Accolade by the American Folklore Society
Nominated for the Kate Greenaway Award
THE PRINCESS’ BLANKETS
The Princess’s Blankets by Carol Ann Duffy: Templar
Winner of the English Association Best Illustrated book Key Stage 2
Nominated for UKLA and The Kate Greenaway AwardEditions
ILLUSTRATIONS:
Editions 1 – 5: Elementum Journal
Front cover and interiors for The Snow Angel by Lauren St John: Zephyr
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BIO
b.1960 Dartford, Kent
1978/9: Foundation studies Medway College of Design, Kent
1979/82: BA (Hons) Fine art painting Central School of Art, London
