Caitlin Leline Hatch

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, Leline Hatch

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 featured in

The Art of Watercolor magazine, the Watercolor Artist magazine, the PleinAir magazine and the

American Watercolor and Fine Art Connoisseur newsletters. She has been selected into the

prestigious American Impressionistic Society’s exhibitions and the Northwest Watercolor

Society’s International exhibition where it won 1st place in 2022 and has won the “Best

Landscape” and “Best Animals” Awards in the Plein Air Salon Competitions and received the

Hardy Gallery People’s Choice award. Her private commissions hang in homes across the

country.

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, Leline

Hatch 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.

Artist Statement

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 capture the important details that tell

the story.

Awards, Exhibitions and Recognitions

-March 2024 Awarded the National Watercolor Society’s Phyllis Solcyk Past President Award in the 2024 NWS Member Exhibition. 

-March 2024 Juried into the Northwest Watercolor Society’s 2024 Annual Waterworks Membership Exhibition

-March 2024 Juried into the National Watercolor Society's Member Exhibition ~ show dates May 1- June 30, 2024 online only

- February 2024  Juried into the American Impressionist Society’s Small Works Exhibition on St. Simons Island, GA ~ show dates April 25 - May 28, 2024

- January 2024 Won the “Best Western” Award in the Plein Air Salon Competition

-January 2024 Awarded Outstanding Watercolor by awards judge William Suys in the BoldBrush monthly art competition

-January 2024 Invited to be a faculty member for Watercolor Live 2024

-November 2023 Awarded 3rd Place in the Big Tiny Show at the District Gallery in Knoxville, TN 

 -September 2023 Juried into the Mountain Oyster Club’s 54^th Annual Contemporary Western Art Show and Sale in Tucson, AZ 

 -August 2023 Juried into the Miller Art Museum Exhibition in Door County, WI

 -August 2023 Accepted into the National Watercolor Society and Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour 2024 International Exchange Exhibition 

 -August 2023 Awarded 1st place in the "Paint the Point" PleinAir competition for the postcard challenge in Mineral Point, WI

 -August 2023 Juried into Northwest Watercolor Society's 83rd Annual International Open Exhibition

 -July 2023 - Awarded the Artist Network Merchandise Award for "Waiting Patiently" in the 4th annual Women in Watercolor International Competition

-July 2023 - Awarded as a Finalist for "Encompassing Wisdom" in the 4th annual Women in Watercolor International Competition 

-May 2023 - Won the Outstanding Watercolor Award in the BoldBrush Painting Competition

- February 2023 - Juried into the Transparent Watercolor Society’s 47th annual exhibition at the Kenosha Public Museum in Wisconsin 

- February 2023 - Juried into the American Impressionist Society’s Small Works Exhibition in Knoxville, Tennessee 

- December 2022 - Won the “Best Western” Award in the Plein Air Salon Competition

- November 2022 - Won 1st Place in the Northwest Watercolor Society’s 82nd Annual International Open Exhibition

- September 2022 - Won the “Best animal” Award in the Plein Air Salon Competition

- July 2022- Won the “Best Landscape” Award in the Plein Air Salon Competition