About the Artist

Catherine Stearns Buss has a life-long fascination and love of art. Many early school days were spent sketching everything in sight during class. As a girl, she lost countless summer afternoons sketching and painting en plien air near her childhood home in Northern Illinois.

Today, to no one’s surprise, she is a contemporary artist working in pastel.

After receiving her BFA from Northern Illinois University in Visual Communications, Catherine spent the next 35 years as a graphic designer and art director. After nearly 20 years of working in-house for mainly Fortune 500 Companies, Catherine founded CVdesign. She loved the creativity that was involved on a daily basis for the next 18 years.

Now that Catherine has retired as a graphic designer, she is thrilled to be able to do the things about which she is passionate—namely her fine art, traveling, and spending time with family. Catherine is also an avid cyclist. In 2019, she began painting exclusively in pastel. In her own words:

“I love the transparency you can achieve by layering the colors. I’ve always loved to draw, and pastel, to me, is like merging drawing and painting. I like to paint what is beautiful or unique about what is in front of me. It may be the way the light is hitting or reflecting off something, or the expression or concentration on someone’s face, or a unique gesture.”

Although Catherine has traveled extensively, she draws inspiration from the people, places, and things around her, wherever that is. Her career as an artist continues to evolve.

Memberships & Associations

Pastel Society of America, Associate Member

Chicago Pastel painters

Southwest Florida Pastel Society