Summer 2016 b

follow, inspiration returns and the magic
starts again. At the end of the process, a
lot of the time the painting is nothing like
what I thought it would be when I started…!
Sarah: What inspires you?
Caro: Oh, I’m inspired every day by the
process of creating and by the natural
world around us, which is awesome in the
original sense of the word. I love to watch
the sea, in all its moods, from tranquil,
misty mornings as the tide breathes gently
in and out on the shore, to dramatic
stormy seas and crashing waves with all
their incredible power… I watch the sky
and the clouds and the sunrises and sunsets
and drink it all in. My little dog and
constant companion, Zuki, watches it all
with me too on our daily walks.
Sarah: Do you find the artist’s life an isolated
one? You must spend hours alone in
your studio and that can be an issue for
some artists…
Caro: Actually I love that aspect of my life
- it’s like “me” time when I’m in the studio
- I become very focused and get into a
state of flow which can be energising and
peaceful all at the same time. I’m not really
alone as Zuki is patiently flopped out
on his cushion waiting for more walkies,
and we recently rescued a Birman cat who
graces me with her presence in the studio
when she’s not presiding over the garden…
I have music on in the background,
or radio 6 which does some great interviews
with musicians and I am amazed
at how what they say about their process
is so exactly what I’m going through - it’s
like having a support group in the room!
When I’m not painting I also mentor other
creative businesses and meet fascinating
people through that - I find marketing and
business strategy deeply creative too!
Sarah: How do you overcome Artist’s
Block in times of “drought”? If indeed you
do ever suffer from this!
Caro: Block? No - just the opposite! I could start
a new painting every day! In fact I often do - it’s
just the finishing of them that’s the problem! I
love a bare canvas and that feeling when you’re
just about to mix up paint - I find that really exciting
- the opportunity to explore the new ideas that
have been going on in my head whilst I developed
a theme in the last paintings - it’s a new start with
47
and layer after layer of colour, just started
to look like a sky - and I found I liked that - I
was surprised, maybe even quite shocked
- it affected me, and people I showed it to
really liked it and responded to it too - so I
started painting with that intention… and
that year of pure experiment with texture
and abstract techniques became a basis for
more realist and considered oil paintings.
Sarah: So how would you describe your
style?
Caro: Well I think my style is constantly
evolving - maybe it always will be - and
maybe it should because then it’s this fascinating
learning, growing process…I mean,
sometimes I feel that I’ve done some work
that’s really classical in style with wet-inwet
techniques, glazing and scumbling,
and then I’ll add in areas that are really
quite impressionist or more abstract - I
use brushes, palette knives, my hands,
bits of old cloth and I’m really most comfortable
with oil paint and a variety of different
mediums depending on the viscosity
I want. I find that I have to work in
quite a free and spontaneous way to create
with authenticity - though often I look
at what I’ve done and change it almost entirely
in the next layer or right there and
then. I do know when I begin to see the direction
a painting should take but sometimes
paintings are stubborn and won’t
reveal themselves for a long time! And
sometimes you can miss the moment of
magic when the painting becomes what it
should be and then it’s ruined. But when
a painting shows me where I’m going and
I see it and follow, inspiration returns and