Friday, November 6, 2026
Cathy Varen of Elmont has returned to Elmont Memorial Library for her second exhibition. Her artwork was on display throughout October, and this year’s theme, "Folk Art of Autumn," marked her return to the gallery. We spoke with Varen to learn more about her creative process for this year’s exhibition and her plans.
What does it mean to you to be exhibiting your artwork at the Elmont Memorial Library for the second time?
A: It means a lot to me because I'm trying to express my feelings as an artist to the community, and I like to share a lot with the community, and I feel that when you're an artist, you give other artists and people inspiration, or young students, to have a hobby and something different to do.
What inspired you to return and showcase your work to the Elmont community again?
A: People. People told me, "Continue moving on to express your feelings in different genres and themes,” and I seem always to do October-type Halloween, Thanksgiving, commercialized art. But I do different things as well. I make beads. I do sculpt. I do pottery. These are all different things people don't know about what I do.
What was the inspiration behind these artworks?
A: A few years ago, I visited Bethpage Restoration Village, where pumpkins, scarecrows, and costumed actors carrying lanterns brought the past to life. Inspired, I began depicting churches, a general store, farmhouses, turkeys, and fields. I travel around Long Island, read widely, and sketch whatever comes to mind before painting it in acrylics or oils—whether people, farmhouses, or landscapes. This time, I combined elements of 18th-century Long Island, including Native Americans, rural farmhouses, turkeys, a general store, and horses. Visiting places with interesting sights helps me learn and find subjects to draw, paint, and sketch.
Is there a particular theme, message, or story connecting the pieces?
A: …The message is different for everyone who views my painting. One person may feel inspired to travel; another may want to rescue a cat from the town's shelter. Someone else might ask, “Where is the Bethpage Restoration Village?” and want to explore its antiques, 18th-century houses, and animals. Each viewer finds a personal message in my artwork.
Is there any special piece that's personally your favorite?
A: My favorite is Ghost Cats…I like that because…If you believe it or not, I sometimes think of a friend of mine say, "Cathy, there are always spirits around us, good spirits and bad spirits, and so the good spirits influence us." So, I think, as an artist, you get spiritually. How should I say this? Spiritually inspired by another realm. It just doesn't come from the intellect. It comes from inspiration around people. So, it's almost like a spiritual process when you're an artist.
How long did it take you to prepare for this exhibition?
A: Every exhibit I do takes at least a year. It's been a long time. Some artist friends finish paintings in three days. I work on several sketches and canvases at once, moving between pieces that may take a day or several months. It’s a difficult, nonlinear process—not like writing a novel and finishing it in two years. I jump between projects, set them aside, and eventually finish them, much like switching between books before returning to the first. I keep changing colors, sketches, and visual arrangements.
What challenges have you faced as an artist?
Well, I'd like to sell the artwork someday, and it's very difficult to sell it today. I'd like to get it out to the public and use that money to support cat rescue and help homeless animals. Okay, so that's what I would do with the funding. If I sold the paintings, it would be only $25 or something like that. I have no idea what's going to materialize, but I'm very much into charity and community work and helping people and animals. So, whatever I do, I can always make duplicates and copies of the originals and give them to people. But that's why I rescue cats. I've been doing that for a long time.
Are there any artists or experiences that have influenced your work?
A: Let me see. Van Gogh, Picasso…Some of Rembrandt's, because I studied art, and when I went to New York University and graduated in 1977 in liberal arts, it was a different time. …you could sit in Washington Square underneath that archer triumph, and you'd have artists that were very avant-garde and teach you, street artists. And I learned a lot from sitting on a bench, and giving the guy $20, and he has six or seven students, and they would show you all different realms of art, and it was different. It's more like a bohemian thing in Greenwich Village.
Why is it important for you to display your work in a community space like the Elmont Memorial Library?
A: It's important because I like people to enjoy art, and everybody sees it in a different way. And I like making people happy, and that makes me happy. I think you give people a diversion; they don't get bored of seeing or reading the same book or being in the same place. They see a different taste, a different purpose, something very unique. And every artist is unique. Every single artist who brings their work is unique, and they're professional in their own way...So, it's a journey for me. But I've always been like this.
Are you currently working on anything?
A: Well, I'm scheduled to do another art show next year, and the theme is going to be on Gothic Hollywood artists, like Bella Lugosi, Boris Karloff, all different artists that I'll be doing portraits of them and depicting what the motion picture business was in the 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s, and how people used to like seeing horror flicks for Halloween, but there was acting involved. So, what I'll be doing is more commercialized, in the theme of a Hollywood-type genre, for the following art show.
