Things We Lost to the Flames, 2016. Oil and enamel on canvas, 36″ x 48″

The scenes in Cath Hughes’ Things We Found at the Lake series appear to be traditional summer settings. Until you look more closely. Along with swimmers and bathers, her paintings contain hybrid characters, and figures from British folklore and European mythology.

A Spot of Mummery Pokery, 2016. Oil on canvas, 30″ x 30″

The artist draws upon her personal history as a British immigrant to Canada and reflects upon the conflation of cultural traditions and histories from her dual nationalities to create otherworldly compositions with a surreal aesthetic – Firehall Arts Centre notes.

Bathers at Mystery Lake, oil on canvas

And then sometimes, the mystery is in the actual name of the lake (above).

Cath Hughes is a British-Canadian contemporary painter currently living and working in Vancouver, BC.  She holds a BFA in Painting from Oxford University, UK, as well as an MA in Museums and Galleries in Education from London University.  She is currently a third-year student on the Post Graduate Painting Correspondence Course facilitated by Turps Art School in London, UK.

Her website, here.

On Saatchi Art, here.

On Instagram, here.