Caroline Absher
I just read Vonnegut’s “Bluebeard” recently and loved it. It’s such a great book for painters and artists, for so many reasons! NORTH CAROLINA UNITED STATES TEXT BY CAROLINE ABSHER PHOTOGRAPHY BY TAYLOR SPONG AND CARY WHITTIER WWW.CAROLINEELEANOR.COM @CAROLINELEANOR
I was born in North Carolina, USA. I live and work in Brooklyn, New York. I have a cat named Leeloo. Based on a childhood- long obsession with art, moving to New York to pursue it never really felt like a decision. I got a BFA and spent 5 years as a TV show set designer to support my painting practice. During the pandemic l got sober and lost myself in painting. The past few years have been a lot of change and growth.
I start my paintings with a big abstraction and then improvise. A lot of the time, there are many paintings under the final work. They can be seen in little bits everywhere, playing off the next color and giving the surface life. It’s a lot of accidents and layering. I love to build things up in order to destroy them, because whatever I do right after I get completely sick of something usually becomes the best part.
My new paintings are wild and a bit abstracted, thanks to being much more about paint. My current show is titled “Back to Oz”. My analysis of Oz is that it’s a safe place to go when real life is too painful. Oz looks different for everyone. Each painting has a bit of its own personality, existing in different little corners of this world.
Recently, I have been experimenting with new tools, pigments and brushes, and the universe of possibilities is expanding! I am technically pushing myself and really enjoying it. A new secret of mine is big cheap brushes. Until very recently I had never experienced the thrill of painting with a brush the size of my head.
My motivational force is the fact that I have my health and emotional wellbeing. That is all I can ask for in a society that places profit over people at every turn. I am honestly motivated by the challenge to be a more present person. My goal is to enjoy everything good that comes my way, and not miss it.
