ActiveCarolyn Doe

Artist Statement

Welcome to my art.

I am mostly self taught which only means I just play until I figure something out. My ongoing education in art takes place thru my own passion and pleasure in the exploration of creative processes. The mediums themselves have become my teachers.

Always excited by fiber arts and having been raised by a seamstress, I started working in batik on silk fabric over 30 years ago. Batik has become my voice. When dye touches silk fabric it spreads like crazy. The wax creates a boundary. It is this dance of control/no control that captivates me for hours. Through this ethereal quality, I try to convey the essence of a place and of the creatures who dwell there. About 7 years ago I took a 4 day class on palette knife painting in oils. Thick textures and vibrant colors. A whole new world revealed itself to me thru this medium.

In my most recent work I am combining my two favorite mediums: silk fabric and oil paints. I have been exploring a process on fabric called Eco-printing (or Botanical prints). This involves the use of natural dyes, leaves, and the minerals iron and copper. Steaming or boiling for 2 – 3 hours extracts pigments and tannins from the leaves and permanently bonds them to the silk. I then glue the silk to canvas using an acrylic medium. I create sky and trees with palette knives, brushes and oil paint. When dry it is protected with varnish.

My inspiration comes mostly from the natural landscape that surrounds me at whatever place I am traveling through, working in, or residing at. My work as a field camp manager and cook around the state of Alaska allowed me to experience wonderful, wild and remote places. I have worked as far south as Antarctica as well. Like the cold, the beauty of Antarcticaʼs changing light cuts deep to the bone. Hours spent observing, then I go indoors and create. I work from rough sketches and sometimes black and white photos but mostly I do it freehand.

I like the movement of birds. They come and go in my paintings. And the stillness of trees. There is enough inspiration for me to last several lifetimes. I currently have work in galleries and private collections all over the US, as well as in several countries around the world, including Antarctica.

Exhibit Artwork

All work included in the exhibits is available for sale unless otherwise noted. Purchasing a piece of original artwork directly supports local artists and helps to sustain the Jansen Art Center. If you’re interested in a piece, please email [email protected] or visit our Gallery Shop. 

Carolyn Doe

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