ABOUT
Catherine is open for commission. Share your ideas and references and she will create a master piece just for you.
Catherine Decôme
was born in France and grew up in Toulouse. Her Mom is from Ghana and from an early age was raised with in a very strict African culture. Growing up with no television or toys Catherine used her imagination as a survival tactic.
When Catherine started school, she quickly realized she was different. School was incredibly hard as she is dyslexic. Her family did not understand what the problem was as they had never been exposed to dyslexia. Her family assumed she was idle and wasn’t interested in learning. This led to constant mental and physical abuse from her family. Catherine’s outlet was to draw and she struggled to read and write but could express herself via images.
At 8 years old Catherine was abandoned by her father with no explanation. From one day to the next he was gone. This was a confusing and traumatic time. The abandonment was the beginning of a dark path. Life became more disturbing. Catherine and her Mom plunged into poverty. They relied on church donations for food and clothing. Catherine’s hardship at such a young age instilled in her resilience, strength and the capacity to see beyond what was in front of her.
At 13, Catherine was encouraged to try to model and she wanted to give it a try. Despite best efforts she was not able to catch the attention of any modeling agencies. Then at 15 she entered and won the Elite Model Look of the Year contest in France. That led to her first modeling contract with a legitimate, highly regarded agency.
Just as life was looking up Catherine discovered horrific realities about her family that included sexual assault.
This revelation fueled Catherine’s will to get out of the situation and be able to help her family.
At the age 17, Catherine met her ex-husband who rescued her from the nightmare she was living. They quickly married and soon after had a baby girl. At 22 Catherine had enough. got divorced and moved to New York with her baby girl. This was one of the hardest experiences of Catherine’s life. She was in a foreign country, alone with a baby and barely spoke English. At this time modeling was not working out. Catherine was struggling to survive and provide for her baby. She was constantly told to move back to France but she never stopped believing in herself. She was not going to quit.
In 2017 Catherine started her spiritual journey to help heal from all of her trauma. Again, with determination she was able to see the light beyond years of shadows. She started to paint as a therapy, then as a hobby and soon it became a lifestyle. Everything in Catherine’s life became art. She surrounds herself with art in her mind. body and soul. Art is her form of self-expression without any judgement.
Catherine’s triumph from the dark shadows to a beautiful place is evident in her art. She is now ready to share her story and vision with the world.