Carol Hosking-Smith

Concepts My main motivation for painting is colour. Colour for me is a direct experience which expresses my emotions and spiritual aims. I work intuitively, creating lyrical, improvised, non-contrived, images of colour and form. A balance between spontaneity and thought-provoking compositions; between intuition and inspired calculation. I am fully committed to abstraction in my paintings. My aim is to create in each work a unique expression, only occasionally working in series. The outcome of a painting can be a surprise, and this element of surprise combined with a freedom in creating, keeps me excited about the act of painting. At the same time I use abstraction to evolve my own language of poetic expression. Influences Open spaces; weather conditions; the sea; St Ives modernist artists; American and French abstract expressionism; Japanese and Chinese art and design; music and dance Career path Studied at Central and St Martin's School of Art, 1973-77. Chelsea School of Art, 1986-8,studied Design, Textiles, Interior Design and Fine Art. Worked freelance as painter, illustrator and designer. Sold designs and paintings, worked on commissions in UK and abroad in America, Italy, France, Germany and Japan Recent exhibitions and galleries: Mixed shows at Open Space Gallery, Penryn, Cornwall, and Edgar Modern Bath. Galleries in St Ives: the Plumbline Gallery, the Corner Stone Gallery, the Gallery on the Square and The New Craftsman Gallery. Also exhibited in the Open Space Gallery, Penryn, Cornwall since it opened in 2008. At present I am exhibiting as a full member at the Penwith Gallery St Ives, on ongoing mixed shows.