![detail of Liner Notes: Henrietta painting Detail of painting with 19th c. handwriting, geometry lessons and gesture.](https://catherinecourtenaye.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Liner-Notes_Henrietta_2009_oc_20x30_1600px.jpg)
detail: Liner Notes, Henrietta, 2009, oil on canvas, 20 x 30 inches
selected works
“…the swooping flight of birds is a kind of cursive script written on the wind….”
David Abram, The Spell of the Sensuous
My paintings include fragments of 19th-century handwriting embedded beneath many layers. Source materials also include naturalistic studies of birds of the American West, pen-and-ink drawings, aerial landscapes, and maps. My own gestures are in a kind of conversation with the shape of imprinted text and scribbling. Volumes on this website are organized roughly chronologically, demonstrating a gradual evolution of style and meaning.