Emma Carter
Artist Details
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Artist Name: Emma CarterTuition
I have taught adult education classes at Brixham Community College in 2004/2005 and I have also held workshops at The Childrens Festival Torbay 2006 and at Foxhole Infant School Paignton 2006 and Preston Primary School in 2010. I have held art classes at National Trust - Greenway, Galmpton Devon in 2004 and have ever since been doing demonstations and holding workshops for art societies and groups all over the Southwest region.
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Biography
I have always been drawn to expressing the free spirit and the infinite horizons that nature presents. The ever changing natural states of the sea, the land and the skies that surround me in my home county Devon, have been a source of inspiration for a multitude of art forms for over 20 years.
I have been lucky enough to have spent a lot of time on a small island in Devon called Burgh Island where I have studied and experienced the forces of the elements and nature's course. This has been a constant and recurring theme in my work that has also given me a philosophical appreciation of our place here in this world and how we stand in the shadow of the vast power of nature.
Painted from memory, my work reflects a response to how a place feels not necessarily how it looks. Small signs of life like a lone sailing boat, a row of planted cypress trees or a breakwater symbolises man's intrinsic relationship with the elements. I travelled extensively alone throughout much of the world, from the tops of the Himalayas and Andes, to the coral reefs of the Great Barrier and the depths of the Amazon, so memories of mountains and valleys, beaches and winding roads stimulate a romanticised but philosophical aspect in my work. With titles such as ‘What is this life, if full of care that we have no time to stand and stare' and ‘These days are ours...' taken from famous poets, I hope that the paintings take on another dimension as you are questioned. Poetry is an important part of my work, some I borrow from others as inspiration and the rest I compile. The poetry flags, modelled on Buddhist prayer flags, have been designed to accompany exhibitions, which give many people insight into my work and inspiration.
I specialised in sculpture and photography in my fine art degree from Middlesex University London, but my best known works now are large oils with these locally inspired, vast open beaches and wide anonymous seas. People tell me that they enjoy a sense of freedom and of time encapsulated within a frame. In today's complex and over stimulated society, open compositions provide a visual escape into a serene and natural world. I hope that the free spirit in all of us is evoked by looking at my pictures.
As a juxtaposition to my two dimensional work, I have more recently been returning to my three dimensional roots and trying to address the very issues that are defining modern culture, questioning the relationship with the viewer and identity, again looking at philosophy and spirituality. This resulted in a successful conceptual art show entitled ‘Inside Out - Aesthetic Conceptualists' at Torre Abbey, Torquay in 2009 and will continue as a body of work centering on ‘English Eccentrics'. I prefer not to define myself as a painter/sculptor/installation artist/curator/poet but will use what ever medium needed to convey what I wish to express. Sometimes themes or series will define my practice for years, others are highly contextual. Art is a not a hobby, job or vocation for me but a total way of life.
Influences are not only from nature, friends and family but also from the impressionist movement from artists such as Pissarro, Monet and the incredible expressionist Van Gogh. Sculptural influences are from Christo, Gormley, Kapoor and Goldsworthy.
I also work profusely, often giving my professional expertise voluntarily, on the local and regional art circuit helping to provide platforms for other established and emerging artists by curating and directing such festivals as the award winning Great Create Festival of the Arts at Greenway, Blank Canvas and TACO at Torre Abbey which showcased alongside Antony Gormley in 2009.
I have produced numerous pieces for galleries and solo exhibitions, corporate commissions and private collections worldwide. Recent commissions have included seascapes for Prime Minister Gordon Brown and other dignitaries.
Exhibitions
Harbour House - kingsbridge,Devon May - June 07
Birdwood House - Totnes, Devon August 07
Greenway Gardens National Trust - Galmpton, Devon - July - Oct 07
Torbay Hospital - Torbay, Devon July - August 07
Awards
"Contribution to the community" as part of 'Shoal of Brixham Artists' art group 2005 & 2006. Awarded by Torbay Artsbase
Media
Acrylics, Fabric, Mixed Media, Oils, Pen & Ink, Watercolour
Subjects
Abstract, Expressionism, Impressionism, Landscape, Seascapes and Water, Skies, Trees and Foliage
