Meet the artist…

Hello! I am Christie Anne Langley, the artist behind CatSkills Design, and I have been living and working in the San Francisco bay area for over 25 years. Growing up, my focus was always on animals, dancing and art and, as I went into college, I chose to focus on marine science and fine art photography. I had every intention of getting someone to pay me to live on an island studying a coral reef and working for conservation.

Life had other plans, of course, including a healthy and much enjoyed sidetrack into a career as a professional dancer for over a decade. But, no matter how hard I tried, I could never shake the desire to pursue my art and find a way to not only give back to conservation, but inspire others to care about our planet.

In 2015 I opened my small business, CatSkills Design (a nod to where I was born as well as my initials). For the last 10 years I have enjoyed honing my skills as a painter, illustrator and sculptor. I love making handmade goods and art from recycled materials and creating compelling original illustrations, sculptures and paintings celebrating nature & wildlife. Painting progressed to 3D sculpture when I discovered needle felting and fell in love with the process. In 2D I often work in the style of pointillism, using only dots to cover entire canvases with color. The unique process allows me to emphasize each creature’s special qualities. It’s amazing how so many tiny dots together can create such an impact. A concept that is not lost on me in the battle for our environment.

Explore & create

Though photography is no longer my main focus, it is still a secret passion. I love to travel and photograph and I use these photos as inspiration and reference for my artwork. Originally, I wanted to go into conservation because I have such a passion for protecting this planet and it’s amazing creatures and habitats. Now, through my artwork, I hope to draw attention to the natural world. I am proud to donate a portion of the sale of each piece of my artwork to various conservation organizations every year.

  • Often, I am inspired by animals I encounter on dives or through my travels, but I also constantly find inspirations through watching various documentaries. The list of animals and sea creatures I would like to feature is always growing. I am happy to take requests too and, of course, I often do commissions which naturally inspires the direction of my work.

  • I usually work on painting for 4-6 hours per day, 5 days a week (or more!) for anywhere from 3-5 weeks depending on the size. Using dots only to cover the canvas certainly makes it more of a labor of love, but I really enjoy the texture and control of color that comes from pointillism.

  • Oh man. If you have tried needle felting before, you may have an idea of how tedious and slow going it can be. Thankfully I find it meditative! My smaller felt “living walls” generally take from 8-15 hours to make and the larger pieces anywhere from 25 hours+. The free standing sculptures depend entirely on the detail involved. As you can imagine, they are priced according to the time involved in the creation.

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