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When Painting Found Me​

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My painting story started a little later in life, an Australian in Colorado, I found myself drawn to something new - oils. On reflection art has been my life long companion - a piano player then teacher until an early adult, to calming drawings amidst all the hectic of my career - but at the gorgeous age of 30, after more than a decade of directing creatives in the design industry, I found myself needing to express something of my own.

I have always been intrigued and captivated by the feminine, curious and natural form, as well as shifting states of being. I am in awe with Expressionist and Color Field art movements, and will forever be in love with the beauty of the Impressionists. I feel there is an element of all three in the abstract work I share: on one hand I paint to capture the ever present beauty to be found in nature, but it feels more intriguing to me now to abandon the literal in order to express the intricacies of being a woman, exploring how seeing something can bring beautiful qualities into someone else’s life.

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As such my work is an inquiry of layers, starting with the obvious - observing becomes the first layer of visual literacy. Once the literal has expressed itself from my body, the gesture now wants to dance. The shadow colors come forward first, until the light breaks through darkness - bringing with it softer hues and significant colours. Gentle temperature changes mark shifts and transitions, while gesture and expressions are used to bring forward specific states of being, sometimes taking many attempts before I find the mark that translates - though all attempts remain embedded in the artwork. I delight in the interactions which take place between the materials, and welcome the texture that in my opinion makes a painting. And through a focus on harmony and balance, the work captures a transitionary moment in time.

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EXHIBITIONS & SHOWS

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Charlotte is an Australian self taught artist based in Madison Alabama. Since her first painting in 2017, she has had the privilege of solo exhibits, gallery representation, published work in children's books and for commercial products, and been engaged in many private and corporate commissions.

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2018: Les Femmes - In Her Space, Solo Show Colorado Springs, CO
2019 / 2020: Les Femmes - State of Being - Solo Exhibit Fort Collins CO
2020: Soft & Wild Abstracts - Solo Show Fort Collins CO
2021: Les Femmes The Comforts of Home - Solo Exhibit Madison AL / Sydney Australia
2022: Herself - Solo Show Madison AL

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