Commissions
... updating
House Portrait Pricing
10×14 image $600. 14×20 image $1000. 18×24 image $1400. 22×29 image $1800.
Larger images contact for quote.
Prints of the portrait can be made for gifts.
Painted on Arches 100% cotton museum-grade paper with only the finest quality and most lightfast archival-grade watercolors. Please note, the quoted prices do not include family members or pets in the portrait, but if this is what you want it isn’t a problem. Contact Deborah for a quote.
Artist Statement
I am a self-taught artist. I began painting after my children gave me a box of watercolors purchased in a toy store for Mother’s Day in l992—the same year I became divorced after an 18-year marriage. I have been painting full-time since March of 1994.
I paint what I love, what I want to love or appreciate--what I want to really “see” and what I want to come to understand. I seek in my paintings to find a greater uplifting truth and beauty than I can usually find in my daily life. I want to be reminded and to remind—life is very good, joy is in the small moments, beauty is found in the imperfection at hand.
The common thread of my paintings is an exploration of daily life. The images and symbols I use are common to all our lives and represent, for me, both the home we live in and the one we carry inside. This subject also allows me a way to exercise and explore my traditional female energy in a non-traditional world, to heal from a difficult past, and to consider at a deeper level the challenges of life and that idea we call home.
My paintings have helped me to heal from a childhood marked by abuse and the deaths of my brothers. Through my art, I create and explore what is right in the world. It helps me to remember that while there is oft times terrible tragedy, there is always, existing simultaneously, a wonderful good. In encouraging myself, I hope I am encouraging others.
While I work in many mediums (watercolor, pencil, ink, collage, ceramic and wire), I am best known for my paintings and collages. I have developed my own watercolor technique and painting style. Indeed, there are now young artists independently working in my painting style as well as coming for instruction. My collages are, again, a new way of working with recycled magazine pages. I call them torn paper mosaics. They are an exhausting process requiring a trust in your own art and a willingness to unfold.
My original works have sold all across the United States and in many foreign countries. Having been represented in galleries from Maine to Florida, I have mounted over 150 shows, completed over 500 commissions and been published both as an artist and a writer. I love my work spending 80 plus hours a week in my studio.
Press Quotes
“Deborah Cavenaugh, seeking a fluid intensity, approaches the ecstatic clarity of Walter Anderson or Minnie Evans. [Her] nearly primitive directness resonate[s] with sincerity and honesty.”
John A. Hancock, Contemporary Watercolors, Annie Boykin Gallery
“Cavenaugh... paints in colors that recall an Eastern European city or a Turkish Kilm or perhaps Matisse after a visit to a textile factory.”
Catherine Quillman, Philadelphia Inquirer
“The color is so vivid. The brightness in each and every one of these [works] communicates a kind of joy that one doesn't normally see in paint.”
The Diane Rehms’ Show, NPR, Washington DC
“Colorful, spirited paintings... she paints things I like in a very unique way.”
George White, Cincinnati Inquirer
“Among seven of the best-known expression artists in the country.”
Gibson Greetings, Inc., Artist's Corner, (Gibson is the nation's 3rd largest producer of greeting cards.)
“Cavenaugh paints what she knows best – home…Fans of Cavenaugh’s work connect with the stories she paints.”
Paco Strickland, Focus on the Coast
“Her (Cavenaugh) scenes invite the viewer into her world where they can recognize their own.”
Blonnie Wyche, Encore Magazine
“She (Cavenaugh) is known for her portrayal of comfortable scenes and familiar images with which everyone can identify…. Whether it’s families in their homes, on the beach, or in the park, Cavenaugh’s watercolors are vivid and imaginative.”
Cary Magazine
“She writes on all her paintings, whether it is a sentence or a fragment of a sentence. ‘They (the sayings) are always positive in nature,’ said Deborah. “They are a verification or a validation of what I believe or what I want to remember that is good.”
Kristina Florea, Lumina News
“Cavenaugh's works are of lived-in rooms and happy homes.”
Roberta Penn, Lumina News
“Deborah's work sells not only for the beautiful way she paints, but just as often for the message of inspiration she writes on every painting.”
Mel Jackson, Airlie Moon
“Deborah Cavenaugh brings a fresh and relaxing style of impressionist painting... using familiar memories to connect the viewer to her paintings.”
Roberto Salazar, Up&Coming
“As playful as they are powerful, the Madonnas embrace motifs of women's ordinary work, issues of choice, and the amusing notion of having one's furniture arranged on the beach.”
Bill DiNome, NPR, Wilmington, NC
“Apparently, she's struck upon a visual language that, to her, is saying something for people that they can't say for themselves.”
Richard Sceiford, Spectator Magazine
“Her work is extremely colorful and ornate, evoking a sense of warmth, security and pleasure of a home.”
Carolina Style Magazine
Resume
Cavenaugh has had over 75 shows. Galleries from Maine to Florida have hosted her work. Her original art hangs in private collections across the country and in many foreign countries.
Deborah Cavenaugh Artist Resume Artist, Designer, Illustrator, Writer, Keynote Speaker, Teacher
Websites DeborahCavenaugh.com DCArtLessons.com GoToCards.com Podcast/Vidcast Looking Closer Greeting Card Distribution Soul Traders UK – United Kingdom, Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore International Print Distribution EAW Group, Los Angeles and Tokyo
Current Gallery/Retail Representation Mitzy Jonkheer Gallery, Wilmington, NC Turtle Conservatory, Bald Head Island, NC Lantana Gallery, Southport, NC The Pink Gallery, Hilton Head, NC Handscapes Gallery, Beaufort, NC Sunset River Gallery, Calabash, NC Island Ragpicker, Ocracoke, NC Carolina Creations, New Bern, NC Thrill of the Hunt, Wilmington, NC Airlie Moon, Wilmington NC Fisherman’s Wife, Wilmington NC Occasions, Wilmington NC Dragonflies, Wilmington NC
Publications and Media –selected WHQR, an NPR station, interview, Feb 2011 Wilmington Star News, Feature, May 2011 Wilmington Star News, Sunday Feature, January 2011 Wilmington Star News, Feature and Multiple One Page Promotions, October and November 2010 Focus on the Coast Magazine, July 2010 Wilmington Star News, Feature, July 2010 Wilmington Magazine, Feature, May 2010 Today’s Woman Magazine, Feature, May 2010 Wilmington Star News, Feature, Nov. 2009 Wilmington Magazine, Feature, October 2009 Wilmington Business Journal, Feature, July 2009 Encore Magazine, Feature, July 2009 Encore Magazine, feature, October 22, 2008 Encore Magazine, Feature, October 1, 2008 The Bald Head Island Magazine, cover art, January 2008 Sasee Magazine, Cover, March 2008 Encore, Feature, September 2008, Wilmington Star News, article with art, July 2007, August 2007 Pelican Post Magazine, cover, May 2007, May 2003 Lumina News, Article with art, May 2007 The Bald Head Island Magazine, art, January 2007 Wilma Magazine, Article, October 2006 Sasee Magazine, Cover Art, September 2006 Focus on the Coast, Article, May 2006 Sit Right Here By Me, Cover and illustration, 2005 Cary Magazine, Feature July 2005 Christian Focus, Art and article, 4/04, 6/04, 9/04, 11/04, 2/05 The Tourist Magazine, Maine, cover art 8/04 Brunswick Beacon, art and article 9/04, 11/04 Pink Magazine, Cover art 6/04 Lumina News, June and July 2003 Wilmington Star News, June and July 2003 Printwear May 2002, cover and article Azalea Festival 2000, and 2001 North Carolina State Festival, Official Artist Art In America, Annual Guide,2000, 1999, 1998 Up&Coming, January 2002, review The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 2000, review The Cincinnati Enquirer, Article, May 2000 Home Magazine, September l999 Cover, Styles by Maggie Sweet, Banks Channel Books Encore Magazine 5/00 cover/article, 11/98 cover/article, 5/97 cover/article Cover art, Health and Beauty Magazine, October l997 WECT TV News Interviews 4/00, 4/99,4/98. 5/96 NPR, Diane Rehm, syndicated national show, Washington, DC, live 11/1/96 The Spectator, interview 5/96 WHQR All things considered, 7/95 Taste Full Magazine, Cover, Spring 1995, Summer 1995
Selected Shows The Hill Center, Washington, DC, Fall 2012 UPCOMING Brooklyn Center for the Arts, Juried Group, Feb 2012 Lantana Gallery, One Woman, July-Aug, 2010 Lovey’s, One Woman, Aug-Sept, 2010 Caffe Phoenix, May 2009 Bottega Gallery, Oct – Nov. 2008 Silver Coast Winery, September 2008-Jan 2009 Riverboat Landing, Wilmington, NC April-Dec, 2008 Island Passage, Bald Head Island, NC April – Nov, 2008 Fast Frame and Local Artist’s Gallery, Wilmington NC, March 2008 Café Phoenix, Wilmington NC, November 2007 Fast Frame and Local Artist’s Gallery, Wilmington NC, August 2007 The Art Institute of Washington (DC), group, March 2007 Slotin Folk Artfest, Atlanta Georgia, August 2006 T.A. G. at Lumina, The Layers, July 2006 Merrill Jennings Gallery, Outside Artists Show, May 2006 DeBottis Gallery, West Chester, PA, solo, October 2005 Budding Artist Gallery, Morehead, NC, solo, July 2005 Merrill Jennings Gallery, Davidson, NC solo April 2005 New Elements, Wilmington NC, solo June/July 2004 Chase Gallery, Wilmington NC, solo, June/July 2003 Realis Gallery, Winston-Salem NC, Art Fest Show, featured, September 2003 Mast Cove Gallery, Kennebunkport ME, featured, summer 2003 City Club, solo, January-April 2003 Realis Gallery, Winston-Salem, NC, Sept. thru Oct 2002, solo, Oct.2003 solo Caffe Phoenix, Wilmington NC, April 2002, solo Atlanta, Georgia, Spotlight on Southern Artists, Feb 2002 Fayetteville Museum of Art, Jan.2002, solo DeBottis Gallery, West Chester, PA, September 2001, solo University of North Carolina, No Boundaries, Group, January 2001 WHQR Public Radio Gallery, No Boundaries, Group, January 2001 Watermarks, December 2000, Group Bald Head Island, November 2000, Group DeBottis Gallery, West Chester, PA, Solo 10/03 9/01, 2/00, 2/98, 9/98 St. Johns Museum, Wilmington NC, “Artists of North Carolina” May-99,98 Agora Gallery, SOHO, New York, City, “Interiors-Exteriors” May-June 1998 NOFO Gallery, Wilmington, NC, July-August l998 solo Women in the Arts, Chapel Hill, NC “Through a Woman’s Eyes”, Group, 6/98 Merrill-Jennings Gallery, Davidson, NC solo, 5/ l998 North Carolina Azalea Festival, Juried Master’s Show,4/00, 4/98, 4/97 St John’s Museum, Wilmington, NC, Group, 12/97-1/98 Sunset Gallery, West Chester, PA, Solo, September, l997 Café Phoenix, Wilmington, NC, Solo, 9/97, 7/96, 11/95, 1/94 “Watermarks” Contemporary Media Invitational, Anne Boykin Gallery, 5/97 Bauhaus Gallery, Wilmington, NC, Solo, 12/96-2/97 University of North Carolina, “Restoration of the heartgarden”, solo 3-6, l996 WHQR-National Public Radio, Public Gallery, Wilmington, NC., solo, Sept-Oct 1995
Selected Design Work/of Special Note Member Washington Project for the Arts, Washington DC Member Arlington Art Association, Arlington, VA Twelve Paintings, “The Campaign,” Will Ferrell and Zack Galifinakis Star Brrrberry Yogurt, 5 Commissions Peapod Kids, 25 designs (Children’s clothing) Board of Directors, Domestic Violence Shelter Board of Directors, No Boundaries International Art Colony Board of Directors, North Carolina Arts for Health Dawson Creek (TV), Customized furniture and commissioned art 2 Designs, The Star News, Wilmington NC 1 Design, The Wayfarer, Bald Head Island, NC (Christmas Ornament) I Commission The Widow’s Mite Experience 1 Commission, Wilmington Children’s Museum 4 Commissions, Azalea Festival, largest festival in SE USA (poster, cups, wine glasses, apparel) 1 Design, The North Carolina Oyster Festival (poster, cups, apparel) 1 Commission, The Fur Ball, NC, 1 Commission, Carousel Center, NC 1 Commission, The Heart Ball, NC No Boundaries International Art Colony 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999- Bd. of Dir. 01-03 23 Designs, Gibson Card Company, OH (greeting cards) 31 Designs, Heide’s Homemade Buttermints, (packaging, labels, advertising) 8 Designs, Ashleigh Frames (photo frames)25 Designs, Image Network (apparel) 4 Commissions, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, CA (travel mugs) 4 Commissions, Mosaic Accents, Korea (flower pots) Private Commissions numbering over 1000 Wilmington Star News, a NY Times paper, two paintings, commemorative cup series Founder WAWAS, Wrightsville Avenue Working Artists’ Studios Art Association Founder/Director Deborah Cavenaugh Summer and Afterschool Art Program Board of Directors, Domestic Violence Shelter Board of Directors, No Boundaries International Art Colony Board of Directors, North Carolina Arts for Health
About Deborah Cavenaugh
Deborah Cavenaugh is a self-taught artist. She began painting on Mother’s Day in 1992 after her children presented her with a box of watercolors they bought in a toy store.
In late 1993, Cavenaugh took a couple of the paintings she had made (mostly to make her children happy) out from under the bed where she kept them stored. Her bold idea was to frame a few pieces for her own bedroom. A local frame shop happened to send Cavenaugh a coupon. The frame shop happened to be owned by a gallery. The gallery owner happened to be in the frame shop that day, saw Cavenaugh’s work, and put her under contract right then. The next week, three paintings sold.
Cavenaugh still didn’t take it seriously, however. It wasn’t until about six months later when she was offered a show at a popular local-art’s restaurant, that Cavenaugh decided to paint as hard as she could for one year and see what would happen. That was in March of 1994.
Today, Cavenaugh has had over 75 shows. Galleries from Maine to Florida have hosted her work. Her original art hangs in private collections across the country and in many foreign countries. Cavenaugh is a respected commission painter, loved for her portraits of families, houses, and pets… and for the blessings she writes on every painting. She has a popular website with a store that offers about 300 different prints. Her print and card lines are distributed internationally. She has been featured in newspapers, magazines, NPR, and on television. An author and illustrator, Deborah is represented by Linda Konner Literary Agency in NYC.
Deborah Cavenaugh paints comfortable scenes and familiar images from life as we know it. She invites the viewer into her world—a world that they already recognize from their own. Cavenaugh’s watercolors are colorful and complicated. She is known for the sayings she writes on each and every piece—sayings, Cavenaugh says, are “all about making life a little easier, a little more joyful, and helping us all to recognize that on any day, while the list of all that is going wrong could be written down, the list of all that is going right could never be finished”.
Deborah Cavenaugh Fabric
*if you would like to be notified when the fabric is released, send an email to Deborah@DeborahCavenaugh.com and you will added to the mailing list.
about my fabric
Oh my goodness, I have been such a frustrated fabric designer. If you have followed my art, you know I am always designing table cloths, sheets, wall paper, upholstery and on and on. Ok. So, now I am going to do it. Be patient and check back (or leave your name to be notified). I promise to make my fabrics as full-on Deborah Cavenaugh as they can be. What fun! (P.S...I designed the fabric on the couch when I was creating my card line.)