“My creativity was linked as a child to the natural world and the materials I found in it.”
The Roots of Creativity: A Childhood Shaped by Nature
Cakkie Lou moniker of Catherine Coster , artistic journey begins in the heart of rural Australia, where she was raised on a vast expanse of untouched bushland. Immersed in the natural environment, she forged a profound connection to the land, a bond that would shape her identity and artistic expression. As a child, her creativity intertwined with the wildness of her surroundings, leading her to create sculptures from banksia flowers and clay objects sourced from a nearby dam. Bark and wildflowers became canvases for her youthful artistry, merging her innate imagination with the materials nature offered.
This upbringing also fostered a spiritual awareness deeply tied to the natural world. Her faith in God, nurtured by her mother, intertwined seamlessly with her environment. For Catherine, the wilderness was sacred; she felt a divine presence in the rustling of leaves, the roar of summer storms, and the quiet flow of the river at the back of their property. These moments in nature became a wellspring of inspiration, a theme she continues to explore in her art. Even today, Catherine describes herself as a “child of the wild,” rooted in the same emotional and spiritual resonance she discovered in those early years.
Her professional background as a trained counselor adds further depth to her work. Engaging deeply with human emotions and the complexities of personal narratives, she translates these layered experiences into her paintings. Through this lens, her work eschews simple dichotomies, favoring ambiguity and metaphor to capture the intricate interplay of life’s contrasts.
Cakkie Lou: A Late Start to a Lifelong Passion
Though Catherine’s creativity flourished as a child, societal expectations initially steered her away from an artistic career. For many years, art remained on the periphery of her life, an outlet relegated to occasional hobbies. However, a pivotal moment arrived at age 30, when an irresistible urge to paint prompted her husband to gift her lessons at a local studio. These sessions rekindled her passion, sparking joy and igniting a creative flame that would eventually lead to a more serious pursuit of art.
Her artistic practice gained momentum after returning to Australia from New Zealand, where she enrolled in a visual arts diploma. This formal training marked a turning point, enabling her to embrace her identity as a professional artist. Since then, she has fully committed herself to painting, bringing energy and emotion to every piece she creates.
Catherine’s approach to art is marked by its dynamic and expressive style. She works with bold, gestural strokes, embracing a physicality that reflects her engagement with the themes she explores. Environmental and spiritual narratives dominate her work, often rendered through metaphorical imagery. Mixed media plays a significant role in her creative process, offering contrast and depth that complement her thematic explorations.
Material and Method: A Textural Journey
Catherine’s artistic process thrives in an expansive and flexible workspace, where she can freely experiment with scale and materials. Her studio serves as a creative sanctuary, accommodating the messy exuberance of her process. Essential tools include a large sheet of glass for monoprinting, alongside natural objects like bark, seaweed, and sticks that she paints with and occasionally incorporates into her pieces. These items, drawn from the natural world, underscore her ongoing dialogue with the environment.
Music and multitasking are integral to her workflow. Whether inspired by an emotional melody or a conversation with one of her children, these distractions often encourage her to work intuitively, bypassing overthinking to let instinct guide her brush. The resulting works are imbued with raw energy, emotion, and spontaneity.
Oil paints dominate her palette, valued for their versatility and forgiving nature. She sculpts into the layers with pottery tools, revealing hidden textures and adding dimensionality to her work. Alongside oils, she incorporates printmaking inks, charcoal, pastels, and spray paint, pushing the boundaries of mixed media to achieve unique contrasts and effects. Recently, she has begun experimenting with layered materials like fabric and paper, creating shifting images that distort and transform under different perspectives—an innovation she envisions showcasing in a future solo exhibition.
Cakkie Lou: Guided by Faith and Vision
Faith is a cornerstone of Cakkie Lou’s artistry, influencing not only her themes but also her creative journey. A deeply personal moment early in her painting career affirmed her belief that art was her spiritual calling. While working on a spiritually inspired piece, she struggled to depict a figure representing Jesus. Exhausted and frustrated, she surrendered the task to divine intervention, only to discover an outline of a man appearing in the paint. With a few strokes, the figure materialized, leaving her overwhelmed with emotion. This experience cemented her conviction that painting was not merely a vocation but a calling guided by a higher power.
Her influences span both the natural world and the works of iconic artists like William Turner, Anselm Kiefer, and Euan Macleod. These inspirations inform her exploration of environmental and spiritual themes, blending the ephemeral beauty of nature with the depth of human emotion.
Catherine’s ongoing experimentation reflects her restless creativity and commitment to growth. By layering fabrics and papers to create evolving compositions, she continues to push the boundaries of her artistic practice. This interplay of texture, shadow, and distortion mirrors the complexity and ambiguity she seeks to capture in her work—a testament to her belief that art, like life, is never just what it appears to be.
You can visit Cakkie Lou’s website at cakkielou.art
