One of the many wonderful aspects of living in our neighborhood is the easy access to our bay and beautiful beaches. Many people are drawn to Sarasota by the water and experience the magnificent beauty of our tropical environment. Our neighbor Catherine Armbruster, of Authentic Bleu,  expresses her love of the ocean through her abstract mixed media artwork and her respect for the environment via her one-of-a-kind, up-cycled, and beautifully covered containers, which were once plastic single-use bottles and containers, now turned into art.

Catherine, who originally hails from New Jersey, became interested in art in high school when she won the New Jersey State Teen Arts Festival competition. Her entry was a colored pencil drawing created in the style of the famous artist Matisse, lauded for his bold use of color; he became Catherine’s favorite artist. Catherine embarked on a career in fashion. Always captivated by the creative use of color and shape, she often looked to Matisse for inspiration. Catherine was particularly drawn to his use of color blocking and his signature royal blue color.

Catherine spent over 15 years designing textile patterns for the Fashion industry, working for companies such as Banana Republic and Calvin Klein. Based in the fashion hub of New York City, she attended top trend shows and loved the energy of the city. As a color specialist, her eye was keenly trained to see balance and hue. She spent time visiting NYC's museums to sharpen her design skills for the textile prints she was creating.

Catherine is also in demand as an Interior Decorator. She focuses on creating spaces that reflect the owner with added style. Catherine says, “Fashion, Art, and Interiors meld together magically as a trinity of beauty, and I embrace them all.”

The pandemic provided the perfect opportunity for Catherine to return to her creative roots by immersing herself in painting. While she was not able to interact with her interior decorating clients, she discovered that the free time allowed her to focus on a new project: the creation of a bold ocean collection of abstract art.  She had a vision for a specific style, developed with the most vivid blues she could find, and her brand,  Authentic Bleu was born.  The brand features a vibrant collection of blue, ocean-themed original artwork pieces in varying sizes. Creating the brand was a task filled with joy; as Catherine shares, “When creating art or decorating, I truly lose all sense of time. This is pure passion! How fun.”

Catherine, a member of the Women’s Contemporary Artists (WCA) and the Sarasota Arts Alliance, is very impassioned about keeping our beautiful oceans clean and has developed a unique and artistic way to keep plastic out of the sea. She created a line of beautifully covered containers, utilizing disposable single-use plastics. If you look closely, you may notice some Sarasota treasures from the beach in her art. Catherine offers classes that teach others how to create art from plastic items and turn them into attractive and functional home accessories.

If you, too, have fallen in love with our magnificent blue ocean, you will want to check out Catherine’s art at her Authentic Bleu studio, (Fri & Sat 11-4, other dates by appointment) located at Palmer Modern: 925 N Lime Avenue, Sarasota, FL, Limelight Arts District, next to Creative Liberties. Catherine offers acrylic and mixed media art for sale in a variety of canvas sizes.  Follow her on  Instagram, @authenticbleu to see her latest creations or sign up for her classes at her website, www.authenticbleu.com.

 

Quote to use in layout:

“EVERYTHING is BLUE in my unique signature art collection, "Ocean-themed, Authentic & created to inspire wonder for the OCEAN"