Charlotte Houlihan
Blewbury
Working from life, Charlotte Houlihan creates honest and thoughtful studies of the beauty and expression of the human figure. They are direct, often spontaneous observations of our body language and n
Working from life, I create honest and thoughtful studies of the beauty and expression of the human figure. They are direct, often spontaneous observations of our body language and nature as much as an individual's form and features, quickly recorded in oil paints or inks.
I graduated with a BA Hons in Furniture and Product Design from Ravensbourne in 2000 and have worked in design ever since - founding a luxury stationery brand. However, art has always been at the heart of my work and throughout my design career I always painted from life. The natural career break created by the birth of my children allowed me to rethink and today I juggle the two disciplines (and my children). I've been lucky enough to study under the watchful eye of artist and former RCA tutor Bobby Gill since 2004, and her studio in Notting Hill continues to be my favourite place to paint.
I always feel as though I'm walking a tightrope when I paint and I prefer to allow it to lead me, rather than the other way around. My aim is always to push my painting forward and to challenge myself, while exploring what interests me. I'm fascinated by people and their complexities and individuality.
Current Projects
I'm interested in pushing my composition and application of paint further. My recent paintings have explored shape and colour and I'm intrigued as to how this can evolve and expand without the model present and the constraints of a set time frame. I've given myself two projects to explore these ideas. The first is a series of still lives. Although not my prefered subject matter I'm curious as to how shape and colour as a means for conveying space and depth can be further explored by painting objects, and if I will be able to capture that sense of a moment in time and personality with an object. The second is a series of paintings derived from my life drawings. I've created a series of life drawings with painting from them in mind and I'm interested to see how they translate from one media to another. I've always worked from life, very quickly, using the oil paints wet on wet (two hours being a long sitting for me) and enjoy being forced to make quick, honest decisions and the resulting immediacy in my work. I'm curious if I can create this in a painting derived from a drawing. And how I may be able to explore other aspects of my painting without the model present.
Exhibitions
June 2018 - GAP Festival, Goring and Streatly.
May 2018 - Art Show, (Oxfordshire Artweeks) Blewbury Clubhouse, Oxfordshire.
April 2018 - The Jam Factory, Oxford.
March 2018 - Meditation, Cornforth Studios, Newbury.
November 2017 - Old Girls, The Freeborn Gallery, Oxfordshire.
May 2017 - Movement, Cornerstone Arts Centre.
May 2017 - The Jam Factory, Oxford.
May 2017 - Oxfordshire Artweeks Blewbury Clubhouse, Oxfordshire.
Tutoring
October 2017 - January 2018 - A Level Life drawing tutor at DGS
Life class tutor locally.
Education
- 1997-2000 - Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication. BA Hons. Furniture and Related Product Design
- 1996-1997 - Oxford Brookes University. BTEC National Diploma. Foundation Studies in Art and Design.
- 1994-1996 - Didcot Sixth Form. A Levels. Fine Art, Ceramics, History, General Studies.
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