Southern Indiana Living Magazine - July/August 2024

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Artists of Southern Indiana 12 • July/Aug 2024 • Southern Indiana Living “Autumn Fire,” a watercolor by Cathy Hillegas // Photo by Cathy Hillegas A Magician with a Brush Students enrolled in Cathy Hillegas’ advanced watercolor class at Arts Alliance of Southern Indiana (AASI) on Market Street in New Albany are grateful to be there, learning with a Master. Advanced student and artist Judy Wasson summed up her experience: “My skills have taken a leap forward under Cathy’s guidance. She is a generous and constructive teacher who brings out each student’s unique gifts.” A former student and artist, Cathy Thorpe, saluted Hillegas’ talent: “She is a magician with a brush.” For Hillegas, teaching is as rewarding as painting. The two activities do not compete in her life. “In order to teach, I have to learn,” Hillegas said, “so teaching pushes me to grow as an artist. It is also gratifying to watch my students move forward. When a student sells a work or gets accepted into a show, I am elated, proud of their achievement.” The classroom space at AASI appeals to Hillegas, who often paints there after class. “The light is first-rate,” she said. “There is a monarch garden on the grounds that I have often photographed and painted, and it is quiet.” Hillegas has been teaching watercolor painting classes for 24 years. She began teaching at Preston Arts Center in New Albany in 2000. “I was invited to teach the same watercolor class in which I had been a student,” Hillegas said. When that business closed 12 years ago, she taught at the Mary Anderson Center for the Arts at Mount St. Francis and other venues before settling at AASI. Painting is not Hillegas’ first career. She pursed counseling, interpreting for the deaf and writing in her younger years. But painting and drawing were always part of her life. “Both of my parents loved to draw and paint and encouraged me to do the same,” she said. The story of how she turned back to art and became a full-time artist is fascinating. Her mother had been captivated by a watercolor painting of a mill, offered for sale at an art show at Spring Mill Park. Hillegas, then around 37, secretly purchased the painting as a Christmas gift for her mother. As she waited for Christmas to arrive, she studied the artwork. “I decided that I wanted to learn to paint like that; it was a powerful feeling,” she said. When Hillegas gave her mother the gift, her mother offered, in return, to pay for the two of them to take watercolor classes. “After those classes,” Hillegas said, “I was hooked.” Within a few years of that first watercolor class in 1993, Hillegas Watercolor artist Cathy Hillegas Story by Judy Cato Photos by Lorraine Hughes (except where noted) began winning contests and awards and was invited to exhibit her work in some prestigious art shows. In 2020, her painting “Rise Up” was accepted into the National Watercolor Society’s 100th International Exhibition. In 2021, her work “Autumn Fire” was accepted into the 101st exhibition, only this time she received the Winsor & Newton Award and was granted signature status in the National Watercolor Society. “Rise Up” is a painting of bare
white sycamore branches against a bright blue winter sky filled with light that cascades over the tree, revealing minute details of the bark. “I am particularly drawn to objects or scenes that are filled with light,” Hillegas said. “Light transforms the mundane, making colors glow, illuminating details and causing unexpected color to spill into shadow. For example, I had passed by that tree every day for years, without paying much attention, until one day the light was brilliant. I grabbed my camera and immediately began snapping shots.” Hillegas eventually spent over 200 hours painting the complex composition. The reference photos for “Autumn Fire” were taken while Hillegas was hiking at Mount St. Francis. “I have loved spending time outdoors in nature since childhood,” she said. “Family time often included long walks in the woods where my father would teach me the names of wildflowers and trees. I have developed a spiritual connection to nature.” Jim Book, Owner Artist Cathy Hillegas “I am particularly drawn to objects or scenes that are filled with light. Light transforms the mundane, making colors glow, illuminating details and causing unexpected color to spill into shadow. - Cathy Hillegas “Sun-filled,” a watercolor by Cathy Hillegas Southern Indiana Living • July/Aug 2024 • 13
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Southern Indiana Living Magazine - July/August 2024

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