Welcome to Pleasant Ridge, the place I call home, where my daily chores are also my greatest source of inspiration for my art. With my husband Andy and our two children, our lives unfold on a ridge-top dairy farm, with a mission to take care of our land and animals.
Together with our farming partners and a handful of wonderful employees, we milk cows, make cheese, raise horses, and create art. My husband Andy turns our grass-fed cows’ milk into our award-winning Pleasant Ridge Reserve cheese, and when I’m not looking after our children and horses, I express my joy of it all through my watercolor paintings.
Watercolor is a journey of discovery. At times it’s unpredictable, yet that instability is what brings magic and wonder to my canvas. For me, it is a life metaphor; a reminder that unplanned detours can bring unexpected, joyful discoveries.
I use a wet-into-wet technique that allows the water and pigments to move freely while still allowing me to steer the painting toward an established vision. This tension between spontaneity and control brings a special vitality to my process and to the paintings themselves. It allows me let go and have faith in the process while at the same time capturing the important details that tell the story.
Biography
Caitlin Leline Hatch is best known for her soulful, impressionistic watercolor paintings, with work that reflects the essence of its subjects. In animals, figures and landscapes, she captures the interplay of light, shadow and color, and reveals the everyday magic all around us.
Leline Hatch has been dedicated to watercolor for over 20 years. Her work has been selected into the prestigious art exhibitions around the country and internationally including the American Impressionistic Society, the National Watercolor Society and Royal Scottish Society International Exchange, the Transparent Watercolor Society of America, and the Northwest Watercolor Society’s International exhibition where she won 1st place in 2022. She has won several category awards in the Plein Air Salon Competitions and won awards in the international Women in Watercolor competition.
A native of Door County, Wisconsin, Leline Hatch grew up on a horse farm, and her childhood imprinted her with a specific sensitivity toward animals and rural landscapes. Today, she lives on a dairy farm in Wisconsin’s Driftless region, where her family raises cows, horses and chickens, and makes artisan cheese. The rural countryside continues to be her main source of inspiration. With her art, Leline Hatch pushes pause on our distracted, modern lives, and invites us to consider overlooked moments of natural beauty. Her art makes ordinary moments extraordinary.
Visit www.lelineartstudio.com to learn more.