Oxmarket are delighted to have an exhibition of work by Catherine Church. Catherine’s studio is based near Twyford, in Hampshire; she takes her inspiration from the flowers, plants and natural forms that she finds in gardens and on walks around this area and beyond. She trained as a theatre maker and is Artistic Director of Platform 4 – a national touring performance company – www.platform4.org

Her flower paintings are in collections all over the world, they are joyful, life-affirming, richly detailed and endlessly fascinating. There is much to discover in the complex layers of pattern, texture and bold colour. She works on canvas with household paint, oil, acrylic, pearlised paint and pencil. In January, she was chosen as one of the 10 artists to watch in 2026 by SheerLuxe magazine.  

Catherine says “I paint because it makes me unbelievably happy, everything makes me happy when I’m painting, I love it. I love how I feel when I paint, how it relaxes me, how I can get into a zone when I am doing it and block everything else out’.

Catherine is influenced by the painter Paul Klee and the Bauhaus Movement in as much as their use of forms and circles fascinate her. Klimt is also an influence for Catherine particularly the gold decorative nature of Klimt’s work and exquisite depictions of nature and flowers.

Catherine hopes that visitors can look within the paintings and appreciate the playful nature of the forms she paints – the colour combinations and the use of texture from scratches, pearlized lines drawn, how the negative space works – whether filled in with another colour or left as the background.