Artist Philosophy by
Marie-Helene (Marlene) Carpenter My work is predominantly figurative in nature, always containing a golden thread of sublime abstraction and connecting the pictorial with the emotional. My artwork narrates stories of contemporary time and contains traces of my thoughts that are referenced from personal mundane experiences. Creating work that wakes up a connection with an audience because it has a voice of its time, this is a goal that I hold dearly. During the origination phase the subject matter and basic narrative is established which influences my choice of medium, the character of mark and -colour. Through a process of play, association I introduce elements of interest that continue to build the composition. The introduction of seemingly unconnected thoughts, elements or colour fields form a playground or breathing space for other associations and meanderings of thought to form, making it a free yet nurturing process and completing the work. Drawing classes are where I merge my thoughts and experiences with the visual stimuli of live models on large sheets of paper or canvas. I thrive off the excitement with every next shifting stroke of charcoal contaminating the sheet with textures, tones and fleeting elements of my mind all a very sobering and an almost therapeutic yet joyous adventure. This is counter balanced by a very different kind of drawing that I also love, sketching on the street in public domain. Drawing life as it happens with situations unfolding in front of my eyes, the challenge of capturing this raw energy and movement requires working at great speed utilising sharpened observation skills honed during studio life-drawing sessions. These opportunities are made possible through a worldwide community group of Urban Sketchers and Joburg Sketchers where we capture and record in our sketchbooks, the scenes of vibrant everyday urban life. I consciously strive to incorporate the atmosphere of surrounding circumstances into my work opportunistically capturing them. I also preserve and incorporate magical elements of chance in my work; a splash of ink or a beautiful smudge of charcoal. |
I create work that is sensitive to the continued struggles and joys of life. Or as Gerhard Richter said “catch life it is the raw material for new work”