One-of-a-kind art blending chemistry, craftsmanship and creativity.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
CATHEY DECEMBER is a Louisiana artist who has been creating hand-colored, limited-edition etchings for over 40 years. She’s spent her entire life living on the bayou, where nature isn’t just inspiration—it’s a daily companion.
Growing up in an artistic family, Cathey learned early on that art is a way to communicate and tell stories. She discovered printmaking in 1973 and immediately fell in love with the intaglio etching process. By the time she was 14, she was already selling her work to galleries and shops—long before she could drive herself there.
After studying fine art at the University of New Orleans, Cathey’s work continued to gain recognition, including being featured in the U.S. Pavilion at the 1984 Louisiana World’s Fair. Over the years, her etchings have appeared in films like Richard Pryor’s The Toy, Hulu’s Love in Fair Hope, Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger series, and Hallmark’s My Southern Family Christmas. Her work has also appeared in a number of commercials, magazines, and can be found in homes and public and private collections across the U.S. and beyond.
Today, Cathey lives on Bayou Bonfouca with her husband and her yellow lab, Beignet. You’ll usually find her in the studio, or sketching along the bayou, still amazed by the wildlife, water, and quiet beauty of the Gulf Coast. Every piece she creates is pulled by hand, colored one at a time, and rooted in a life lived close to nature.
ABOUT THE ETCHING PROCESS
A Time-Honored Fine Art Printmaking Process
INTAGLIO ETCHING is a traditional printmaking process that’s been around for hundreds of years, and it’s still done the old-fashioned way—by hand. Artists like Rembrandt, Goya, and Picasso used this same technique, and while the tools haven’t changed much, the care and patience it requires definitely haven’t either.
Each etching starts with a zinc metal plate that’s carefully coated and drawn on by hand. The image is then etched into the metal using acid, a slow process that builds depth and detail over time. Creating a single plate can take anywhere from 40 to 80 hours of focused work before it’s ready to print.
When printing begins, the plate is hand-inked and carefully wiped so that ink remains only in the etched lines. Dampened fine art paper is then placed over the plate and run through an etching press, transferring the image under intense pressure.
Each print is pulled by hand, one at a time—there is no mass production, no automation, and no two impressions are ever identical.
After the ink has fully dried, every print is individually hand-colored with watercolor, adding subtle variations in tone and depth. Finally, each piece is signed, completing a process that ensures every print is both an original artwork and part of a carefully crafted limited edition.
Even though the prints come from the same plate, no two are ever exactly alike. Small variations in inking, pressure, and color make each one a true original. It’s a slow, hands-on process, but that’s part of the beauty. Each finished etching carries the time, care, and tradition that went into making it.
In a digital world, intaglio etching stands apart. It is slow. It is physical. It demands patience and precision. And that’s exactly why it matters.
Every finished piece reflects not just an image, but a process—one that connects contemporary work to a lineage of artists stretching back over 500 years.
Shop Local or Shop Online
Shop Local or Shop Online
You can find Cathey’s one-of-a-kind etchings in any of these fine local shops around the Gulf South or shop her online store and get her limited edition prints shipped directly to your home.
Art locations