International artist, Gwen Cates, lives and paints in Charlottesville, Virginia, returning after two decades in Santa Ynez, California. She began painting in the 1960s and has exhibited her work in Britain, Italy, the Caribbean, and across the United States. She describes herself as a contemporary colorist, creating experimental and playful abstract paintings in acrylic, often with collage elements. Many of her paintings have been inspired by earlier en plein air landscapes and figurative work. Traveling deeply into her subconscious and the world of dreams, Gwen Cates reveals fantasies from her imagination. She creates archetypal images and incorporates winged figures, horses, and other animals in her compositions. Swatches of fabric, lace, gold leaf and lichen from oak trees are some of the elements that are included in the paintings.