Less than 1 percent of the global population is an Olympic athlete. Catalina Bertola often compares the achievement with life in the art world.
Most people will never reach Olympic status—in athletics or art—but that shouldn’t stop people from giving it a go. In her opinion, physical activity and creativity are part of a balanced lifestyle.
“There are those people that are going to be athletes and Olympians. Whether or not you’re that person and that’s your thing, or you just want to be a healthy person, you need to move your body in some way,” Bertola told the Sun. “Whether or not you’re the full-time artist, totally in it, or you just want to be a healthy person … everybody needs some kind of creative outlet, or they’re not going to be healthy.”
A signature pattern
See Catalina Bertola’s portfolio online and join her mailing list by visiting catalinabertola.com. Follow the artist on Instagram @catalina.bertola.
The current culmination of her creative practice appears in a new painting series, which she’s hoping to display at the Santa Maria Public Library. Bertola is coordinating the group show with two other Central Coast artists, Niki Gatton and Zoe van Beurden.
Last time Bertola’s work appeared at the library was in 2023, and the library had booked the show a year in advance. The artist is expecting similar scheduling this time, too. She’ll contribute several paintings evoking feelings of daydreams, with light colors and patterns reminiscent of making shapes out of wandering clouds.
‘There’s so much pain and there’s so much ugliness, but as an artist, I get to really create connection.’
—Catalina Bertola, visual artist
Before she was wielding whimsical colors, Bertola’s journey teetered on the brink. She had to drop out of art school in Indiana for mental health reasons. Classes were the last thing on her mind.
“In and out of psychiatric emergency wards, like next-level gnarly,” Bertola remembered. “Not to dismiss a little bit of depression, but like full-blown mental illness. And so, I wasn’t able to really get with the program.”
In retrospect, the artist is glad she dropped out. The life experience she gained while learning at her own pace gave her a new driving force.
Bertola moved back to Orcutt a decade ago. The Santa Maria native breathed new life into her identity as an artist after she received an Allan Hancock College course catalog in the mail.
“I wanted something enriching. Rather than, ‘What’s my major?’ I just kind of flipped through. I was like, ‘What sounds interesting?’” Bertola said. “I ended up taking a philosophy class and an art class.”
In the years after moving to Orcutt, she was surprised to find pockets of creativity in unexpected places. The woman at church who stitches little dolls. The neighbor across the street who paints landscapes. Kids playing in a sensory table at the library.
Over the years, the artist was also experimenting with what she calls “her pattern.” It’s a geometric, linear pattern drawn with three vertical lines next to three horizontal lines. Bertola repeats the marks across the canvas or paper, and it starts to change shape.
Each line is a slightly different length, moving the next row or column in a new direction. She can incorporate figures into the pattern, too.
“Kind of like a crosshatching linear pattern. I do it in ink. I do it in paint,” Bertola explained. “It’s not purely abstract—it’s the pattern but using the pattern to represent things or people.”
Looking closely, viewers will notice the distinct formation in most of Bertola’s work. It appears on utility boxes she painted in Santa Maria and Pismo Beach, her colorful canvases, a painted piano on Santa Barbara’s State Street, and it’s even tattooed on her left wrist.
A lot of her portfolio is interactive in one way or another. The artist’s first exhibit at Shepard’s Hall in the library included a sensory table, a community collage, and a jigsaw puzzle. Kids rolled around on the floor, and elderly viewers sat in chairs. She loved creating the accessible art experience and was happy that a blind community member could also participate in the sensory station at her opening reception.
“I feel like it completely shifted the energy,” Bertola said.
Her art’s never locked away or out of reach. The artist’s Instagram bio states that she’s “creating art for people who get scolded at museums.” Quiet gallery strolls have their place, but Bertola’s mindset is more aligned with a messier, no-rules approach, especially since becoming a mom.
It was challenging to find her place in the local creative community because a lot of social connection events wouldn’t fit with her schedule.
“Like, I’m sorry, but I can’t go to an 8 p.m., ‘Let’s sip on wine and be at a quiet gallery.’ That’s not going to work for me,” Bertola said. “Even museums, it’s like, ‘Don’t touch.’ So I want to create something that’s for everybody.”
Parenthood is one of her most pivotal influences. She identifies as a full-time mom and a part-time artist, bringing her canvases to the park and sneaking in moments to paint while her young children are napping. It’s forced her to adapt and make the most of the time she gets for herself. She wants as much “bang for her buck” now because her time is stretched thin.
“If I’m going to do art, it has to fill me up. It has to feel good to me and be invigorating to me,” she said. “The crazy, kind of ironic thing that happened is once I made that shift, I really did find my style for once after those 10 years of dabbling in art classes and just experimenting. I did really hone in to my style, and I got so much more positive feedback.”
Her time as a student will never be over, though. She’s constantly learning from those around her and teaching art to the next generation of kids at her church.
Spirituality impacts her artwork in “huge” ways. She uses her history with mental illness as motivation, and some of Bertola’s most rewarding experiences have been helping others feel understood.
“There’s so much pain and there’s so much ugliness, but as an artist, I get to really create connection,” she said. “It ties right into my spirituality, my religion.”
God has been the biggest part of her life, and she’s proud to share her story of hope and success. Bertola likes to share the idea that recovery is possible because it’s a message nobody told her when she needed to hear it.
“I’m glad I took my own journey,” Bertola said. “No regrets.”
Reach Staff Writer Madison White at mwhite@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in July 23 – July 30, 2026.
