Interview with the talented painter Carol Saunderson

Here is our next interview with the talented painter Carol Saunderson… Find out what really inspires her!!!!

1 Describe yourself in five words and how would your friends describe you (in five)!!

 Me

 Interested, enthusiastic, eccentric, diverse, imaginative

 Friends

(These are the polite ones they came up with)  – Eclectic, Humorous, Passionate, Visionary, Generous

2 Your art concentrates mostly on landscapes and portraits.  What drives you to create these images?

 I paint portraits because it is a privilege. I find people amazing and intriguing.  Each subject is unique and painting a person captures them in a way that a photograph doesn’t, in that it isn’t a snapshot of one moment in time but rather a collection of thoughts and observations of that individual.  I discovered as early as art college that however I see that person will be portrayed in the finished work.  Somehow the painter’s thoughts are translated in to the painting at a sub-conscious level.  I like that.  It seems almost alchemical!

 The abstract landscapes which I will be showing at the Fulham Palace Art Fair are straight out of my subconscious.  They are an amalgamation of places in which I have lived or to which I have travelled.  They feature characters, buildings and events from my life in symbolic form and tell stories based on those elements. Through this work I am able to explore my love of colour and endless fascination with the way that different colours interact.

3 What is your favourite type of media to work with and why?

 At the moment it’s acrylic paint as it dries so quickly and means that I can use multiple layers, thus intensifying the colour and creating interesting pattern effects.  It is also very forgiving for techniques such as scratching and sanding, meaning I can experiment with different textures.

 4 What type of processes do you employ to create your work?

 All sorts and I’m always experimenting to come up with more!  I have a large range of brushes in all different sizes and textures, but also numerous implements that I collect with which to scratch, scrape, drag and draw on the painting.  I put paint on and rub it off with rags, I flick paint at it and throw water at it on occasion.

5 What and where are your favourite art galleries to visit?

I did my Foundation at the art college in Cambridge and two of my favourite galleries are there.  Kettles Yard is on Castle Street in Cambridge. It is a beautiful and unique house containing a wonderful collection of 20th century art. It was founded by Jim Ede as a place where visitors would ‘find a home and a welcome, a refuge of peace and order, of the visual arts and of music.’  I’ve loved it ever since I was taken there as a student.  It’s packed full of treasures!

The Fitzwilliam Museum was my other regular haunt as a student.  I can spend happily spend an afternoon there anytime.  It has a wonderful permanent collection and numerous exciting temporary shows.

 A new discovery for me has been the gallery and grounds at Compton Verney in Warwickshire.  I went to see the recent Ben Nicholson and Alfred Wallis exhibition there.  They also have a fantastic collection of Folk Art.  I will be visiting again very soon!

6 Are there other contemporary artists who captivate you right now?  Whose work inspires you?

It’s difficult to choose but I’d have to say Barbara Rae, as her work with colour is amazing and the ceramicist John Maltby for his beautiful simplicity and use of pattern.  I really appreciate the joyfulness of Elaine Pamphilon’s paintings too.  In terms of portraiture I’d say Tai-Shan Schierenberg, Alison Watt and Chuck Close.  Chuck Close is particularly interesting as his photographic large-scale portraits are made up of thousands of tiny abstracts.

Generally speaking there are many wonderful artists whose work inspires me.  Most of them are from the 20th Century.  Craigie Aitchison, Mark Rothko, Henri Matisse, William Scott, Ben Nicholson and the glorious Roaul Dufy to name but a few.

 7 What do you think the future has in store for your work, do you have anything new you are working on which you would like to mention?

 It’s difficult to say as my work is always developing.  It seems to have a life of its own!  I would like to think that my style and confidence will continue to strengthen and that I will be working on more large-scale pieces. 

8 Where do you go for inspiration?

I don’t really have to go anywhere as I live in a beautiful Lodge cottage on the Staunton Harold Estate in Leicestershire.  We are surrounded by fields, have a herd of cows as our next door neighbours and I can walk to work along a mile long lane which takes me beside a lake and in front of Staunton Harold Hall.  There is so much to see everyday.

Otherwise I love the North Norfolk coast of my childhood at Brancaster, Holkham, Wells or Cley where my aunt used to live.  A trip to the Cotswolds is always a pleasure – quintessential English countryside and architecture always does it for me!

Reading is my other great source of inspiration.  There’s nothing like a good novel to get the imagination going.  Salley Vickers, Jeanette Winterson, Jostein Gaarder and Virginia Woolf are always magical.  At the moment I’m reading “All Passion Spent” by Vita Sackville-West and it’s a bit of a revelation.  A very poetic and thoughtful book about an elderly woman looking back on her life and her early ambitions to become a painter.

9 Where is your favourite place to create?

I am very fortunate to have a studio that is housed in a converted Georgian stable block in the grounds of the beautiful Staunton Harold Estate in Leicestershire.  I share this space with textile artist Michelle Holmes and my characterful whippet Rosie.  Being based in the middle of the countryside is very important to me and we walk Rosie twice a day in what is now part of the new National Forest.  I find that, in order to do my work, my mind needs the space and the visual beauty that these surroundings provide.

 10 Do you have a favourite piece you’ve created?  If so, why?

 I have several, each because they mean something to me personally.  There is a large square painting called “The Safe Path” which is an abstract landscape based on a walk on the estate here at Staunton.  It hangs in my home.  The others are also personal – a portrait of my late father and another of my crazy dog!

11 What’s your ideal working day?

One with no interruptions!#

12 What would you like to be working on in 12 months time?

A sell-out show!