cathryn miles
b. 1951, Kingsport, Tennessee
I’m a contemporary landscape painter based in Roswell, Georgia. My work is expressive, textured and built with bold palette knife strokes. I use thick layers of color and intuitive mark-making to capture the movement and emotion I see in the land and sky –- shifting light, changing weather, and the natural rhythm of the world around us. Much of my inspiration comes from the Southeast, where I have lived most of my life. I have strong roots in the Atlanta area, but I’m equally shaped by time spent in the mountains, along rivers and creeks, and on the coast. These places stay with me, and I return to them often –- not just in memory, but in my work. In the studio, I paint using a combination of on-site sketches, memory and instinct, letting the landscapes evolve into something more abstract and personal.
My paintings aren’t realistic. They lean into feeling and atmosphere. A viewer once described them as “Deibenkorn painting Constable” –- which felt just right. I admire both artists, and that mix of structure and softness, of gesture and groundedness, is something I strive for. I’ve also learned from the Impressionists –- working quickly, letting color value contrasts delineate the shapes, and allowing the viewer’s eye to complete the picture.
Although I’ve studied and taught fine art, I’ve never been drawn to academic painting. My style has developed over time through exploration –- following color, composition and a desire to simplify. If you lined up all my paintings from the last 50 years, you’d see a gradual shift toward abstraction and a clearer sense of my own voice.
These days, my paintings are less about place and more about perspective. They’re metaphors for how I experience the world. I paint with the intent that my work will live inpeople’s homes, so I’m always thinking about how to balance deeper meaning with beauty –-color, gesture and texture that feel both emotional and alive. I believe that landscapes carry spiritual weight –- through cloud movement, earth patterns and changing skies, we’re reminded of life’s cycles and our connection to something bigger.
My titles often come from phrases that pop into my head while I’m painting or something I’ve read or heard. Further Up the Road, for example, is from an old Bobby Bland blues song. It can mean a lot of things: karma, moving forward or simply saying, “See ya later”. That idea –-going your own way, following your own path –- feels close to what my entire painting journey has been about.
About ten years ago, I switched to using big palette knives and carpentry tools. It started as a practical choice (I'm tough on brushes), but it opened up new possibilities. I fell in love with the feel of thick paint and the immediacy of slathering color straight onto the surface. After years of experimenting, my current body of work is the result –- built from layers, messes, and breakthroughs in my home studio, where the paint splatters on the floor and walls tell tell stories of previous projects!
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Education
MFA, University of Houston, Painting; Full Teaching Fellowship (Drawing)
BFA, Atlanta College of Art, Printmaking
Teaching
Kennesaw State University/ School of Art and Design; 2006 - 2014: 2D Design and Color Theory; Arts and Society
Georgia Perimeter College: 1994 - 2004: Painting, Drawing, Art Appreciation, 2D Design and Color Theory
Art Institute of Atlanta: 1994 - 2006: 2D Design and Color Theory
Selected Exhibits
2018 – 2025
Haen Gallery, Asheville NC - Gallery artist
Shain Gallery, Charlotte NC – Gallery artist
2020
Shain Gallery, Charlotte NC: New Works - January 24, Two-person
dk Gallery, Marietta GA: January 3, Group
2018
Shain Gallery, Charlotte NC: New Works – June 1 – 20, Two-person
Thomas Deans Fine Art, Atlanta GA: April 13 - May 8, Solo
2017
Thomas Deans Fine Art, Atlanta, GA: March 15 - April 15, Gallery Artists.
Studio E Gallery, Palm Beach Gardens, FL - Gallery Artists
2016
Thomas Deans Fine Art, Atlanta, GA: Cathryn Miles and Scott Upton/ New Works, April - May,
Two-person
Thomas Deans Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA: Introductions: Cathryn Miles, December 2-31 2016
2015
Elder Gallery, Charlotte, NC: Breathing Space", Feb. 6 - Mar. 30, Solo
Thomas Deans Fine Art, Atlanta, GA: New Year/ New Works, Jan. 23 - Feb.28
2014
Thomas Deans Fine Art, Atlanta, GA: June -July, Group
The State Capitol, Atlanta: Aug.- Jan., Group
2013
Watershed Gallery, Ridgefield, CT: “Certifiably Organic”, Sept. - Nov., Group
Elder Gallery, Charlotte, NC: ;The Great American Landscape, Aug., Group
Kibbee Gallery, Atlanta: “Passages”, May, Two-person
Thomas Deans Fine Art, Atlanta: Landscapes of the Mind, Mar., Group
2012
Elder Gallery, Charlotte, NC: Trees”, Oct., Group.
Kibbee Gallery, Atlanta: Transcendence/ Contemporary Abstractions, Mar., Group
Meyer Metro Gallery, Houston, TX: East Coast - West Coast/ Inner Mappings, Mar., Two-person
Elder Gallery, Charlotte, NC: Black, White & Color, July, Group
2011
Elder Gallery, Charlotte, NC: American Woman, Oct., Group
Adam Cave Fine Art, Raleigh, NC :Dunlop and Miles/ New Terrain, Oct., Two-person
dk Gallery, Marietta, Georgia: An Artist's View, Aug., Group
Thomas Deans Fine Art, Atlanta; New Works”, July, Solo
2010
Stonehenge Gallery, Montgomery, Alabama: Cathryn Miles/ Mark Singer, Oct., Two-person
2009
River Gallery, Chattanooga, TN: Oct., Two-Person
2008
Stonehenge Gallery, Montgomery, Alabama: Cathryn Miles/ New Works, Oct., Solo
2007
Jules Place, Boston, Massachusetts: People, Places & Things, Sept., Group
2004
Turner Center for the Arts, Valdosta, Georgia: Oct., Solo
2003
Summit One Gallery, Highlands, NC, Group
2002
Harold Washington College, Chicago, Illinois, Group
Summer House Gallery, Highlands, NC: "Territories", June, Solo
2001
Thomas Deans Fine Art, Atlanta: "Eternal Visions", May, Solo
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2000
Imatra Art Museum, Imatra, Finland, Group
Kouvala Art Museum, Kouvala, Finland, Group
1999
Callenwolde Fine Arts Center, Atlanta: Topographical Views, April, Solo
Clayton State College and University: Artist-in- Residence: 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2000
Georgia Perimeter College: Oct., Solo 1997 Instituto Tecnologico Automomo De Mexico: "Hecho en Atlanta";, April, Group
Aliya Gallery, Atlanta: Recent Works, Mar., Solo
Anthony Ardivan Gallery, Atlanta, Jan. 1, Group
Selected Clients and Collections
Brightline, Tampa, Florida (Corporate Collection)
Art Institute of Atlanta (Permanent Collection)
Clayton State College and State University (Permanent Collection)
Capital City Club, Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia State University (Permanent Collection)
King and Spalding Law Firm, Atlanta (Permanent Collection)
Delta Airlines, Atlanta (Corporate Collection)
Piedmont Driving Club, Atlanta
Jacqueline P. Lanham Interiors, Atlanta
Barkin-Leeds, Ltd, Atlanta
Philip Sides Interiors, Montgomery, Alabama
Lobster Bar Sea Grille, Ft Lauderdale, FL
Mark Timothy Inc., (corporate collection) Boca Raton, FL
Senator Albert Gore, Nashville, TN