Art and animals have always been a major part of Catherin McMillan’s life. As a child she thought everybody was horse mad and liked to draw. Her love of animals was fostered visiting her grandfathers dairy farm where she enjoyed playing with the farm dogs, riding the poddy calves with her cousins and badgering everybody to let her go horse riding.
It wasn’t until a teenager that Catherin owned her first horse a 1/2 cross quarter horse called Bimbo and her beloved blue cattle dog Kelly. Having her own animals around to draw saw even more frenzied artistic creations.
Life then got in the way for the teenage Catherine and other interest were pursued until children arrived on the scene. This is when she started to draw again creating cartoon like characters to go with the silly stories she told her eldest daughter.
Catherin then undertook several years of study, learning and exploring different mediums. However one thing was constant her focus was animals they always took centre stage in her drawings and paintings. Art and animals are what Catherin’s husband calls her passion.
In her words, “Im so lucky to be able to follow my passion and work as a full time portrait artist”.
In 2016 Catherin was commissioned by Landmark (now Nutrien) to paint the winner of the Dalgety Animal Health Stallion Shootout. That was the pivotal moment when Catherin began depicting stockmen and women and life in rural Australia in her work, and the love and passion of all things Denim and Dust began.
Using photographs to paint her commissions, combined with her talents using different mediums, Catherin adds imagination to her work to create truly stunning pieces.
Be it the power and speed of a horse and rider competing in the camp draft arena, the concentration of a kelpie working cattle, or the serenity of a stockman bringing home a mob at the end of the day, painting the Australian way of life on the land at work or play are her passion.
Catherin works with acrylic on canvas or illustration board, pastels and oils. She is available for commission and has a select number of original works of art for sale
Her work can be found in both Australian and International collections.
