Nose to nose with wildlife
Cathy Weiss, Lappet-Faced Vulture, oil, 20 x 36.
This story was featured in the September 2020 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art September 2020 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
WHEN CATHY Weiss set out to paint a trio of lappet-faced vultures, she briefly second-guessed her decision. No one is going to like it, the wildlife artist told herself as she set to work on the composition. Weiss knew it wouldn’t be the birds’ beauty that would win viewers over. “This is a quote-unquote ugly bird,” she says of the turkey-sized vulture, whose distinguishing features are a bald, wrinkled head and a bulky, claw-pointed bill. Still, the birds intrigued Weiss. “They are so interesting and compelling,” she says, “and their personalities are so different.”
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- Cathy Weiss, The Matriarch—Vanishing Fast, oil, 24 x 32.
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- Cathy Weiss, Brothers, oil, 24 x 36.
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- Cathy Weiss, Sacred, oil, 24 x 30.
To the artist’s surprise, her oil painting LAPPET-FACED VULTURE has received not only a warm reception but multiple awards to boot. People do like her portrayal of the bright-eyed avian trio, who look more like dignified advocates for their species than voracious predators. Some might even call them beautiful. “This painting has received the best response with conservation groups,” marvels Weiss. Last year, the work also appeared on the catalog cover for the prestigious Birds in Art exhibition.
To Weiss, it’s a sign that she’s on the right path. These days, she says, “I’m choosing things that I just feel like painting.” For the former graphic designer and illustrator, it’s a welcome change after having spent so many years designing works to satisfy her clients’ requests. “My whole career had been about solving other people’s challenges,” she says. “I knew that when I retired, I was going to paint, and it would be something I could call my own.”
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- Cathy Weiss, Orphans at Play, oil, 24 x 36.
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- Cathy Weiss, The Warning, oil, 24 x 18.
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- Cathy Weiss, Tiger and Cub, oil, 24 x 36.
Today Weiss paints full time in her studio in rural Washington, with her Doberman rescue pup, Alex, by her side. A lifelong animal lover, she has naturally gravitated toward creating portraits of creatures both feathered and furred, and endangered species fill much of her oeuvre. The artist spends hours researching her subjects and probing wildlife photographers’ websites for inspiring reference images to use with their permission. Using her own photographs on occasion, as well, she then fine-tunes her compositions in Photoshop. Finally, she heads to her easel, where she paints in very thin layers, delineating her subjects in up-close, lifelike detail. “It’s just a place I go to—it came out of wanting to get close to the animal,” Weiss says of her realistic style. “I paint so that someone can get within 3 inches of my painting and still enjoy it.” —Kim Agricola
representation
cathyweissfineart.squarespace.com
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- Cathy Weiss, Two by Two, oil, 24 x 36.
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- Cathy Weiss, Two Elephants, oil, 24 x 36.
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- Cathy Weiss, Winter Echo, oil, 16 x 24.
This story was featured in the September 2020 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art September 2020 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
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