Carolyn has painted professionally for 25 years. After moving to Dorset in 2007, she ran classes from her studio in Stourton Caundle, recently moving all classes to The Guggleton Farm Arts in Stalbridge in order to enjoy the fabulous workshop space.
Some members are experienced and well-established artists, who like to meet with others once a week to paint. Others are taking up painting for the first time or coming back to it after many years.
The groups are run so that everyone works at their own pace on their own chosen subject, the aim being, to raise confidence and increase knowledge of the various techniques useful in observational painting.
In Carolyn’s words: “Many people take up painting for relaxation, which is funny as I see varying levels of stress in the class, when things are not working out! One thing that is definite is that painting is all consuming. Life problems and stresses are pushed out completely from the mind during the creative process. There are very few things in modern life (not on prescription!) that can do that. There have been numerous times I have forgotten to pick up my children from school, because I have become so immersed in a painting. This complete escape, for me, is the reason to paint – not necessarily to produce a picture worthy of a frame at the end, but to feed the soul with the creative process and get a busy, over active mind completely absorbed in something pure.
An artist friend once asked how long I had been painting, and then after my reply asked, “…and how long since you started seeing”?I often think of this question when teaching. I find we all hesitate and falter at the same hurdles.
Much of what I teach is how to turn off the all-knowing part of the brain which dominates most of our interpretation of the world around us and turn on the part of the brain which interprets pure electrical impulses from the eyes. The classic left brain/right brain struggle. I teach how to truly see in observational painting; and varied techniques to achieve this. One simple trick is to turn the canvas and the reference upside down, the dominant brain then gives up and allows us to see our subject as it truly is’.
If you would like to contact Carolyn then you can email her here: carolyn@guggletonfarmarts.com
