Catherine Breer
How can your vision of the world not be influenced when you spend almost your entire childhood abroad? As the daughter of Methodist Missionaries, Catherine considers herself lucky to have spent the first 15 years of her life in Seoul, South Korea. It was there, during these formative years, that she developed her aesthetic - her sense of form, pattern and color - that has so dramatically shaped her life. While not exactly born with a paint brush in hand, Catherine did pick one up very early in her life and has not put it down since.
In 1982, she returned to the U.S. and attended Emory University and the Atlanta College of Art. She graduated from Emory in 1986 with a degree in Art History and moved to Boston, Massachusetts to attend the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. In 1987 she began working as a graphic designer, a career path she followed until 2004 when annie|catherine was formed.
Her work made its formal "debut" in 2001 at the Freeport Community Library, and since then she has had numerous shows, including participating in "Art in Bloom" at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Her work is in private collections world-wide.
Catherine and her family live in Freeport, Maine and on the rare occasions when she is not painting, she loves to garden, travel, cook, and play with her kids.
See Catherine's Web site: catherinebreer.com
Annie Darling
“Creating patterns is my passion. I love the relationship between line, shape and color. The more complex the pattern the more fun I have creating it. The enjoyment I find in patterns is derived from my love of abstract art. As a child living near Chicago, visiting museums was part of my life. Whenever I would go, I would pass quickly through the halls filled with the work of Da Vinci or Rembrandt and head straight for halls where I could be entertained by the angular style of Picasso or the bold colors of Delaunay. I have always been fond of pointillism too—all those small bits of color coming together to create a larger cohesive image. I love complex art that looks simple, and the intensity of the thought process that bubbles beneath the work. The patterns I have created embody a combination of the fundamentals I love most in art: color, line, abstract form and artistic mindfullness.”
Annie studied at the University of Oregon and the University of Southern Maine, earning her degree in communications. She opened her first graphic design studio in 1990 and was an award-winning designer for 14 years prior to founding annie|catherine in 2004.
Annie lives in Cape Elizabeth, Maine with her husband and 2 boys.