Catherine Rose Chiara was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1968 and began painting in 1993. She was Living in Southern California at the time attending Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California for graphic design and illustration. When a teacher told her she had a flair for painting she decided to focus on the discipline. She developed her own style through practice. Her first major sale was to McGraw Hill for their corporate art collection in New York City. She has created many series in various styles including Gardens of Mt. Adams and Pixelism. In 2012 while exhibiting her Pixelism work at Art Expo New York she was named One of the Top 50 Emerging Artists of 2012 by Art Business News Magazine.

     She currently lives in Mandeville, Louisiana outside of New Orleans. Catherine is sacristan at her church and shares her gift of painting by creating Praying & Painting sessions with parishioners. She also teaches religion to young children. Catherine is the youngest of four daughters. She is the only one of her sisters who returned to her Cajun roots on her mother's side after many years in the Midwest.

     Catherine was inspired to create collages in March of 2023 when she decided to visit the Holy Land and needed to raise the funds to travel. She created over 60 Love Letter Paper Collages and sold all of them. These collages are made from a print of a painting Catherine painted in 1997 of the Ohio River. She had ordered 500 commercially produced 19 inch x 27 inch prints of the original painting. She kept these prints with her for 23 years.   

     An original Love Letter Collage acrylic painting is available in 18 x 24, 24 x 30, or 36 x 48 inches and will be created upon order.