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Cathy near Bevo XV

CATHY SUE MUNSON, WAOW
Cathy Sue Munson
Cathy Sue Munson paints intricately detailed watercolors and gouache, specializing in wildlife and western subjects. She is known for her commissioned dog portraiture and was featured in an article on outstanding canine artists in the April 2008 issue of Southwest Art Magazine highlighting this aspect of her portfolio. Cathy is an Austin, Texas native and still lives and maintains a professional art studio there. She graduated from the University of Texas with a BFA with HONORS in Studio Art.

The artist is widely recognized for her commissioned artwork with the University of Texas Athletics and Texas Exes alumni with her paintings of longhorns the last several decades. A favorite and heartfelt honor was to be selected to paint a lifesize oil mural of a herd of longhorns now in the Olympic Sports Conference Room at the North End Zone. She has done portraits of the UT longhorn mascots dating from Bevo IX thru the current Bevo XV, which are on display in the Silver Spurs Museum at the football stadium. The artist has just finished the newest portrait, ''Texas Tough" Bevo XV which shows the beloved and famous five year old mascot leading his team out of the game day smoke fog entering the football field. "Longhorn Proud" Bevo XV at age three and half has a spur cloud behind the handsome steer honoring the Silver Spurs student organization. Yearling "Centennial Champion, Bevo XV", was a collector's edition done in honor of the 100 years of Bevo as mascot. All three of these recent portraits have a portion of the proceeds from sales going to the Silver Spurs Bevo Endowment Fund so as to help with the care, lodging, and travel of the UT mvp mascot. Cathy is very active with Ducks Unlimited and serves on the Austin committee. She was selected as the Texas DU Sponsor Artist in 1999 and 2011 and enjoys doing hunting dog artwork for chapters across the state and nation.

She participates in the Phippen Museum Memorial Day Weekend Show in Prescott, Arizona where in 2014 she won 2nd in the overall WATERCOLOR category. This painting "Rodeo Roustabout" was the only piece of artwork selected for the 2018 prestigious traveling Rodeo exhibition at the Bob Bullock Texas State Museum in Austin. Cathy paints in the Plein Air Auction event every summer at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Several years she has been in the prestigious Fall Arts Festival Quick Draw in Jackson Hole and annually in the Whodunnit Show in early spring with the Jackson Hole Art Association. Cathy is a member of the Women Artists of the West, Texas Watercolor Society, Wyoming Watercolor Society, Louisiana Watercolor Society, Arizona Watercolor Association, and the Texas Wild Bunch.

Being known for her dog portraits led to Cathy being selected for the extraordinary honor of painting Texas Governor Greg and Cecilia Abbott's first Christmas card while in office in December 2015, depicting their beloved dogs with a Christmas tree. Cathy Munson strives to capture the inner personality and the realistic outer image of each subject she paints.

Her art is the passion of her life especially since diagnosed with uterine cancer in 20U and with malt lymphoma in eyelid in 2017. She realizes everyday how blessed she is to be able to still paint and create her distinctive detailed style. Not only was her life saved by her brilliant doctors of M. D. Anderson in Houston, they also “saved her hands" from possible numbness and loss of touch due to chemo by doing all radiation and again doing radiation on her left eye "saving her sight" so she can continue her beloved profession. It has also enabled her to see how much the spirit of the soul is important with one's life and passion; and has such a vital part in one being able to heal physically and mentally and live a meaningful life balancing the universe with animal and human entwined side by side.

The artist has gallery representation in Jackson Hole, Wyoming at West Lives On Gallery, the R.S. Hanna Gallery in Fredericksburg, Texas, the Y.O. Ranch Gallery and Store in Kerrville,Texas, Three Rivers Ranch in Warm River, Idaho, and her own C. Munson Studio and Gallery. "The clear realities of Nature seen with the inner eye of the spirit reveal the ultimate echo of God (Great Spirit)." Ansel Adams
C. Munson Studio 3319 Hancock Drive Austin, Texas 78731 (512)454-9100
www.cmunsonartstudio.com
cmunsonstudio@sbcglobal.net

"Cathy and nephew, Gus, her favorite
artist assistant..."

Cathy at the Jackson Hole National Museum of Wildlfe Art where she was an invited plein air event participant and auction artist...

HONORS and AWARDS

2022 Invited artist at the Women Artists of the West 52nd Annual juried show "East meets West" Nov 6, 2022 - Jan 7, 2023
The McBride Gallery Annapolis Maryland

2022 Third Place in Watercolor, Phippen Museum National Juried Show

2021 Invited artist at the Jackson Hole National Museum of Wildlife art as a plein air and auction participant.

2020 Invited artist at the Jackson Hole National Museum of Wildlife art as a plein air and auction participant.

2019 Invited artist at the Jackson Hole National Museum of Wildlife art as a plein air and auction participant.

2018   “Rodeo Roustabout” original watercolor painting was displayed in the prestigious RODEO exhibition at the State of Texas Bob Bullock Museum

2017   Commissioned to paint debut portrait of current mascot “Centennial Champion Bevo XV” for the University of Texas Silver Spurs in honor of their 100 yr. anniversary of University of Texas mascots

2017  Participant as category winner in Phippen Museum first annual PAWS exhibition

2015   Due to being well known as a dog artist in Texas, selected to paint the first term Christmas card for Texas Governor Greg and Cecelia Abbott depicting the honored first dogs of the Texas Governor’s Mansion, Oreo and Pancake Abbott

2014   Won 2nd place in overall WATERCOLOR category at the Phippen Museum Memorial Day Weekend Show (Prescott, Arizona) for “ Rodeo Roustabout” painting

2011 - 2012   Selected as the Texas Ducks Unlimited Sponsor Print Artist

2009 – 2010   participant artist for the Jackson Hole winter carnival at the international dog sled races Quick Draw at the National Museum of Wildlife Art

2008   Honored as one of the six featured artists as Outstanding Canine Artists in the April issue of Southwest Art Magazine

2006   Best Sporting Dog entry for Art Show at the Dog Show in Wichita, Kansas

2006 Featured artist at the Rockport Center for the Arts “Sporting Art Exhibition” (Rockport, Texas) alongside several Texas sporting art master artists

2005 – 2006   1st runner up for Wyoming Ducks Unlimited Artist of the Year

2005 Two paintings selected for the Museum of Hounds and Hunting display at Leesburg, Virginia

1999 – 2000 Selected as the Texas Ducks Unlimited Sponsor Print Artist

1999 – 2000   Commissioned to paint life size oil mural of running herd of longhorns,  "Hoofbeats of Champions”, for the opening of the University of Texas Track and Soccer Mike Myers Stadium

1979 – present    Painted portraits of University of Texas legendary longhorn mascots, Bevo IX thru Bevo XV   On display in the Silver Spurs Bevo Museum at football stadium and Texas Exes AlumniCenter

1974 – 1976   Illustrator for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and magazine