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From Catherine Watson, of "The Studio on Hickory Shores": Faith Journey Portraits; Vacation Memories; Commissioned Portraits; Captivating Landscapes; Historical Sites; Sculptures; Art for Christ Teaching Works;  Art and Floral Design Classes; Literary Works;  and, Creative Custom Couture. Catherine's promise is to ensure your visions are an integral part of the development process with all commissioned works. As is inherit in all original works of art, the completed project goes beyond its original concept. There is a time when the artist has to let go and let God.  It is not Catherine's intention to be a human copy machine, but rather, a communicator, taking you beyond what words can fully describe. From a tiny working studio along the hickory tree lined shores,  Catherine Watson hopes to create art for you, your loved ones, or your foundation; and to help make a positive impact.

Recently, an incredible young woman was honored with a Faith Journey Portrait by artist, Catherine Watson. It is presently on a "Hometown Tour" before it is permanently placed and hung in the forthcoming Camille Place 2. The work was revealed to her parents at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel and Spa in early September, 2025,  before the tour began.  The work of art, "Following the One True Light", is a 48" x 48" by 2" Acrylic and 24kt Gold portrait of the late Camille Coats.  Her vision, to find and help restore people who had been trafficked, so that they could have the life God intended for them to have, has been realized through her foundation: Camille Place.  

Soon the roof will be raised on Camille Place 2 and you can be a part of its success story.  To help raise the roof, click the link below: http://www.camilleplace.com/donate or contact the foundation directly.

In order to create something truly meaningful, Catherine has begun a series of "Faith Journey Portraits".  These works are often of people who have made a significant contribution to the world through their  community service initiatives, or foundations. The works often include scripture, and are created with Christian Music playing in the background. Catherine prays as each work is  being developed to create a presence that both inspires the community and offers a means of communication. Helping people connect with and become an integral part of the continuing journey already established is the goal. She also prays that the works offer a healing element to the families of any of the late portrayed in her legacy portraits.

The work above is part of a comprehensive work to honor the life vision of Kadance Fredericksen and to continue her legacy through: http://www.KadasPromise.com.

Have you experienced the wonderful sensations of a vacation spot and created lasting memories? Perhaps these memories are too precious not to share. Capturing the right angle of each person portrayed, and including all of the people you want in a single work can best be done through a composite painting.  The landscape, colors, people, pets and other animals, are all able to be captured in the one painting.  Adding a creative theme is super fun as well.   If you are not having the artist work from life, a reference photo, with proper permission granted for the artist to use from the original source, must be obtained.  

The painting above includes an historical walk through Monet's gardens.  It was fun to create a time travelers' element by adding Monet, his wife and child from their historical time period, as well as, two modern-day travelers. Look close, and notice this work of art also features a nightscape. When the lights are turned off, the moon glow appears to illuminate the gardens. The beauty of a painting is that it can be complex.

Portrait commissions are very special works of art.  Representing the life of a person through paint, drawing media, or sculpting media is an honor.  Often times, bereavement  is involved and the work of art can create a healing presence for the patron.  Portraits are all unique, special, and such a thrill for the artist to create.  If you are not having the artist work from life, a reference photo with proper permission granted for the artist to use, from the original source, must be obtained.  The artist can also create her own photo references when arrangements for travel can be made. 

Please remember that this is art, therefore things like clothing can be changed, symbolism included and themes added. 

Catherine loves the challenges that are a natural course of any still-life or landscape work.  Landscapes, cityscapes, seascapes, historic architecture and still-life paintings can be quite captivating. They can be created in any number of artistic styles, with specific color palettes, and on 2 or 3 dimensional surfaces. They can have any number of symbolic or thematic features, and can even represent time: past, present or future.  They can be part of a composite work that includes portraiture included cleverly in the depiction of photographs, for instance.  They can also be invented or envisioned, as if expressing a dream.  This category can also include complete abstracts. Note, If you are not having the artist work from life, a reference photo, with proper permission granted for the artist to use from the original source, must be obtained.  

The work above was part of a collection of works across the state of Alabama. This work, "Gaines Ridge Patio" is an acrylic on linen from the Historic Gaines Ridge in Camden, Alabama. 

There is so much beauty in each state, more than the architecture alone. If you look deeper, you will find a treasure of meaningful historical sites; symbols, such as the state bird; and imagery that alludes to other great literary or artistic works developed in the area. Catherine created a series of works for the state of Alabama in 2007.  She can be commissioned to create a series for another state in the future.  This is a composite landscape purchased by the Monroeville/Monroe County Chamber of Commerce and was featured on the cover of the 2008 Chamber Magazine.

Some works of art break the surface dimensions to create low or high relief pieces.  Others, are works-in-the-round.  These works can be commissioned in a variety of media to suit your budget, location and vision.  Sculptures that include landscape elements are best in low relief forms. Portraits and figurative works lend themselves well to high relief or works-in-the-round. High end sculptural works include bronze and metal media that will include a third party charge to take the original, create a mold, and cast it in hot molten media. The works then get cooled, refined and transported. Works created of plaster and fiber are more budget friendly, but are not durable in exterior elements. Hand-built clay can be fired and glazed to withstand a variety of settings.

In this series of high relief sculptures above, the artist developed the works in plaster and fiber media with a grid support within each work.  These antebellum sculptures are part of a collection of works that represent the state of Alabama and are located at the hotel reception desk of the "Renaissance Montgomery Hotel and Spa".

Catherine enjoys creating works of art with symbolic or scriptural references for the purpose of teaching.  Often, these works are representational  and not full realism.  When the allusion to such a meaningful body of work, as in the Holy Bible, is involved, Catherine purposely creates imagery geared to make you think, interact, or imagine.  Only God almighty can create perfection, so she creates the imperfect representations that lead you back to the Holy Trinity. Many of these works relate directly, or indirectly to scripture through words symbols or imagery, as in the one above.: Matthew 14: 28-32.

On special occasions, Catherine can offer a variety of art classes for all skill levels. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced artist, these thematic classes will help you improve your skills and develop your creativity. Catherine is a lifelong artist and designer; and a master credentialed art teacher. Her background includes teaching in public and private school settings from Pre-K through Collegiate levels. Additionally, she is a US Navy Veteran; a former Florist; and a Children and Youth  Minister. Catherine does not believe in having students mimic the teacher's work, but rather teaches the skills and media techniques appropriate to develop original visions worthy of gallery viewing.  Contact the artist if your group is interested in a fun foundational art experience. Travel arrangements and accommodations will have to be made in advance if the teaching location is more than 50 miles from Gulf Breeze,  Florida.

Just for fun, Catherine has authored and published: Fairy Tales and Pixie Trails and Destination Wetopia. This series may have a third book in the near future. All of her books are fully illustrated and take the readers on a journey though time and space.  Written for children of all ages, the books include a language level geared to entertain the gifted readers in an engaging and age appropriate theme.  These books, though inspired from real life, are fully fictional and take you on an imaginative journey to locations around the world. She can bring her interactive puppets and 12' traveling mural to sites for special events.  A special note: Catherine also wrote musical scores for the works in the event they ever get translated in cinematic form. 

"Creating Irresistible Silhouettes"  through custom, creative couture is a unique specialty of the artist.  From a young girl, Catherine loved playing with doll clothes, and truly enjoyed sitting on the armrest of her grandma's favorite chair as "Grandma" created dolls to represent countries around the world. This sense of world heritage has inspired Catherine to create unique "art to wear" custom couture.  She creates elegant and/or theme inspired pieces, for both children and adults.  It is important to note, any garments requested must not infringe on another designer's copyright.  Catherine can, however, upcycle materials into new original designs, to be earth friendly.

Passing on the tradition has been a joy as her granddaughter Vanessa apprentices under Catherine to learn art and design techniques. The two have even create community service pieces under the "Cat-Van Couture" label for "Vanessa's Spotlight".