Carole Widdrington: You
18th November to 30th January 2015
Open eve 25th November 7-9pm
Open weekdays 9am to 4pm
Other times by appointment
Last winter 2013 Carole started to paint portraits of unknown people, mainly creating large pieces of work with close up faces, with emphasise on the eyes more them the face itself. The eyes for me are the link between the viewer and the portrait, the warm connection of deep familiarity, the mirror of the “other one” looking at me. C. Widdrington
My Name is Carole Widdrington, I was born in France, studied stone masonry and Art in France, and Art & Design in London.
My work can sometimes be very varied, I sculpt, paint, draw and do some work with photography. My style can go from abstract to Impressionism, Cubism, and modern concept, installation, 3D Art and more. One day, on an open day artist studio, someone walked into my studio asking me how many artists were sharing the space, I took it as a compliment.
I hardly ever paint or draw a portrait by copying from an image or from a model, I like to start painting straight onto a canvas without sketching or knowing the outcome. My paintbrush is like an extension of my body, I just let my senses and creativity guide me until I know the work is finished.
Sometimes my paintings are created and achieved in a few sessions of very spontaneous urges of creativity. Sometimes, the wave of creativity stops as it started and the art work has to stand still and wait until that flow of creative energy emerges again.
The YOU exhibition for the Ripley Art Centre is about portraits.
Let our minds open up to that connection between us, looking at some portraits of people that we have never seen before, as if they don’t exist, apart from the painted on canvas, and tell me who can you see?