Cathryn Coutts

Born and raised in Sydney, Cathryn drew and painted from a young age. After initially studying at the National Art School and University of NSW, she was awarded a Doctor of Education degree in 2007, with a forty-year career in visual arts teaching, teacher education and consultancy.

Since retiring in 2008, she has devoted herself to art making and volunteering in community organisations in NSW and Queensland. These include the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Wingecarribee Shire Council and the Robertson Environment Protection Society (REPS) in NSW. In 2019, Cathryn became Project Coordinator for the new field guide about the critically endangered local rainforest – “A Guide to the Robertson Rainforest” (REPS, 2021). As well as coordinating, she also produced over 80 botanical illustrations for the book.

Since 2021 she has been a Friends volunteer at the Gold Coast Regional Botanic Gardens in the Herbarium, and as Coordinator of the Friends Botanical Art Group which she established in 2022. For the Native Plants Queensland, Gold Coast Branch, she has taught botanical drawing workshops for members. She values working alongside plant experts, to improve her botanical knowledge. While drawing - with an emphasis on scientific accuracy - is Cathryn’s passion, she also enjoys using watercolour and acrylic, pen and ink.

Cathryn has exhibited widely in the NSW Southern Highlands, Sydney and Canberra. She has work in private collections in Australia and Europe, with three solo exhibitions in 2015, 2018 and 2021. She now exhibits each year in the Friends Gold Coast Regional Botanic Gardens “Perceptions of Nature” exhibition at Robina Art Gallery. In 2024 she exhibited in the BASA “Framing Nature” Exhibition at Maleny in Queensland. Her recent work was selected for the BASA “Bountiful Botanicals” Exhibition 2025 in Canberra.

Website: https://www.cathryncouttsart.com