ARTIST BIO
Caroline is a contemporary painter working from her garden studio in the Cambridgeshire Fens where she has lived for over 30 years. She has a BA (Hons) in History of Art & Architecture, and has drawn, painted and explored her creative processes all her life, taking courses and workshops to challenge, develop and stretch her creativity.
She draws inspiration from both her local Fen landscape and from her travels, especially the rich ecosystems, coastlines and jungles of Costa Rica. She is fascinated by marks of time and change effected by nature and people within an environment, what has been left behind, preserved or changed through the ages, reflecting the passage of time of people and life passing through, giving a sense of presence even in absence.
Originally a figurative artist she is now working with oil and cold wax in a looser more abstract way, combining figurative and abstracted elements together within a painting.
Her work is held in private and corporate collections across the world, is published in
"Portraits for NHS Heroes" and the Cambridge Art Book, and she exhibits regularly in the UK.
WHERE I WORK
I live in the Cambridgeshire Fenlands,
painting in my new garden studio.
My daily walks along the river are rich with the changing sounds, colours and temperatures of the seasons, the shrill call of the kingfisher, the whistle of the otters, the gossiping and singing of the swans, fish jumping, trees rustling and talking, raucous crows, delicate songbirds, all feed into my work.
The light constantly changes and delights with big skies, gathering clouds, rainbows, dramatic sunrises and sunsets.
MY ART PROCESS
I paint with oil paints mixed with cold wax medium to create a lovely buttery consistency. Using squeegees, palette knives and brayers I apply and build up layers of paint and history. I write in these layers, make marks, sometimes add pigment or ash, or small precious elements of gold leaf or memento.
The writings and marks relate to the theme I am working on, for example, graffiti, ancient symbols, rock formations.
Inspired by the natural world which is itself composed of many layers, I press textures into the surface and work into the layers to reveal glimpses of what lies underneath.
I like to use a limited palette of colours in each painting as such a rich and harmonised range of subtle tones and hues can be achieved with just two or three colours.
I draw inspiration from the world around me, organic structures, patterns and shapes in nature, surface texture, weathering, marks of age in rock formations and historic marks in buildings. The process of working with cold wax medium parallels the geology of the strata, layers, ancient marks and lines, history that so fascinates me and allows me to create a painting with a sense of history, and a sense of the people and life that has passed through and remains present despite its absence.
Photo credit: Fabian Granados
SKETCHBOOKS & TRAVEL
I have been fortunate to travel to some wonderful countries and landscapes.
Wherever I travel I take my sketchbook so I have drawings which I refer to back in the studio.
I take my impressions and experiences from my wanderings, whether it is the minute pattern and position of a twig in the grass, the magnificence of a sunrise or sunset, or further afield the rugged beauty of a salt lake or imposing volcano.
Sketching seems to ground the full sensory experience of a place in the memory, and as such forms an important part of my work where visual and sensory impressions and references combine with emotional responses and are incorporated into my work.
I seek to express what it is that has touched me about a place or person.