Today we’d like to introduce you to Cathy Carey.
Hi Cathy, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My art career really began long before I knew what an artist was. As a child growing up outside Washington, D.C., I drew in spilled flour and coffee grounds on the kitchen floor and built forts with moss gardens in the woods along the Potomac River. Looking back, I realize I wasn’t just making things – I was already fascinated by the relationship between nature, imagination, and the worlds we create.
I went on to study at the Corcoran School of Art and earned my BFA in Painting and Printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University. While my formal education gave me a strong foundation in composition, color, and design, the real journey has been learning to trust my own voice.
Like many artists, my path has not been linear. I spent many years building a successful graphic design business while continuing to paint, exhibit, and study. Eventually I realized that painting wasn’t simply something I did – it was the way I made sense of the world. Over time I transitioned into pursuing fine art full time.
Today my work is represented by galleries in Scottsdale, Tucson, Taos, throughout California, and I have exhibited throughout the Southwest. Beyond creating my own work, I am deeply committed to supporting other artists. As Chair of the Oceanside Museum of Art Artist Alliance Planning Council, I develop professional development programs that help artists build sustainable careers while fostering a stronger creative community.
My current body of work, Systems of Awareness, explores the invisible relationships that connect nature, perception, creativity, and human experience. Living in Southern California has profoundly influenced this series. The region’s deserts, coastlines, and ecosystems continually remind me that everything exists within networks of connection – many of which we rarely notice until we slow down and truly observe.
Looking back, every chapter of my career – from those childhood moss gardens, to graphic design, teaching, community leadership, and painting – has led to the same question that drives my work today: What we choose to see shapes the world we live in. I hope my paintings invite viewers to look a little more closely, become more aware of those hidden connections, and leave with a renewed sense of wonder.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The creative process has never been the hard part for me. I’ve always had ideas I wanted to explore and a deep curiosity about the natural world and our relationship to it. The real challenge has been everything surrounding the creative work.
Like many artists, I spent years building other careers – including running a graphic design business – to support myself while continuing to paint. Those experiences taught me invaluable skills, but they also required balancing the practical demands of making a living with protecting the time and energy needed to create meaningful work.
I’ve never tried to paint what others expected. It was important to me that my work evolve from genuine curiosity rather than market trends or outside pressure. That meant taking the longer road – developing my voice at my own pace while supporting my art through other work until I could devote myself to painting more fully.
Looking back, I don’t see those years as a detour. They gave me the independence to develop my work with integrity. Today, Systems of Awareness reflects decades of observation, exploration, and a commitment to making art that is authentic to my own questions rather than someone else’s expectations.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a contemporary Color Expressionist whose work explores the relationship between nature, perception, and consciousness. My paintings are inspired by the landscapes and ecosystems of Southern California, but rather than depicting specific places, I paint the invisible systems that connect them – the patterns of movement, awareness, and interdependence that shape both the natural world and our experience of it.
My current body of work, Systems of Awareness, asks a simple but profound question: What if the world we experience depends as much on how we perceive as on what is actually there? Through luminous color, layered gesture, recurring spiral forms, and symbolic imagery, I invite viewers to slow down, look more closely, and discover relationships that often go unnoticed.
What sets my work apart is that I don’t begin with a landscape – I begin with an idea. Every painting starts with a question I genuinely want to explore, and the visual language develops in service of that concept. I also intentionally embed subtle discoveries throughout my paintings – small animals, patterns, pathways, or unexpected details that aren’t immediately obvious. As viewers spend time with the work, these elements gradually reveal themselves. In that way, the act of perception becomes part of the artwork itself. The experience of discovering something mirrors the very ideas the paintings explore: that attention changes what we see, and what we see shapes how we experience the world.
While I’m proud of the exhibitions, gallery representation, and recognition my work has received, I’m most proud of the years of exploration that led me to an authentic artistic voice. It took time to develop a body of work that feels deeply personal, visually distinctive, and intellectually meaningful. When someone tells me they noticed something new after spending time with a painting – or that it changed the way they look at nature or their place within it – I know the work has done what I hoped it would.
Beyond my own studio practice, I’m equally passionate about building community. Through my work with the Oceanside Museum of Art Artist Alliance, I help create educational programs that give artists the business skills, confidence, and support they need to build sustainable creative careers. Helping other artists thrive is an extension of the same philosophy that informs my paintings: we all exist within interconnected systems, and we grow stronger by supporting one another.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I’ve experienced both good luck and bad luck throughout my career, and I’ve come to believe that neither determines your success on its own. Good luck creates opportunities, but you have to be ready when those opportunities arrive.
As an artist, that means showing up consistently, even when no one is watching. It means continuing to paint, develop ideas, and build a strong body of work long before a gallery owner walks into your studio, a curator discovers your work, or a grant opportunity appears. Those moments can feel like luck, but they only become meaningful if you’ve done the work beforehand.
I’ve also learned that what sometimes feels like bad luck, such as a rejection, a missed opportunity, or a career detour, often redirects you toward something that ultimately fits better. Looking back, many of the disappointments that seemed significant at the time became stepping stones to better opportunities.
So I think luck matters, but preparation matters more. You can’t control when opportunity arrives, but you can control whether you’re ready to embrace it.
Pricing:
- Original paintings range from approximately $1,000 to $10,000+, depending on size and complexity.
- Limited edition and open edition prints are available in a variety of sizes and price points.
- Commissions are accepted on a limited basis.
- Artist mentoring and professional development coaching are available for artists seeking guidance in developing their artistic voice, building a sustainable art career, marketing, pricing, and navigating the business of art.
- Workshops for artists are offered throughout the year through the Oceanside Museum of Art Artist Alliance and other organizations.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.artstudiosandiego.com
- Instagram: @cathycareyart
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtStudioSanDiego
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/cathy-carey-79546032
- Youtube: Cathy Carey (@CathyCarey)
- Other: Fine Art America: https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/cathy-carey
