Charlotte Brindley Fine Art

Beauty can be both resplendent and macabre. I consider myself a painter of "positive darkness", as beauty, redemption, and hope can be found within our deepest self.

 

With a background in Old Master techniques and execution, my paintings are inspired by late Gothic works, the Italian Renaissance, and the Pre-Raphaelites. Many of my pieces evoke the world of symbolism and the subconscious.

 

I use techniques of the past to create modern pieces that evoke the transformative process of womanhood and all its complexities.  Many of my works include butterflies and moths over the faces or around a figure.  These winged creatures represent change, evolution, and renewal of the human soul.  A person is never static, but transforms throughout their entire lives.  I interpret this inner beauty in a modern way to speak to viewers across cultural barriers.  Transformation is redemption.

 

 My paintings often include moths over the eyes because the eyes are thought of as the “windows to the soul”.  Women are not their outward appearances but instead intricate beings with a higher purpose beyond cultural confinements.  My figures are often beautiful and classical because that is what women have always been expected to be, but asks the question, “Maybe instead I am a complex soul?  Maybe I am full of ambiguity? Or maybe I am driven with the longing to know my purpose in this universe?  I am not my face.” 

 

Most of my works are painted with oil with many glazes of color. The grisaille technique is most prevalent in my works; the base of the painting is a brown or black and white value scale, then the colors are added in transparent and opaque layers until I get the desired effect. I do a little planning, but the vast majority of my paintings are improvised and created as they are executed. Sometimes my best ideas occur when there is little preparation, coming from deep within my subconscious. The image that appears in my head is slowly transferred to the canvas. 

 

I create works that are multi-layered and abstract in meaning, though their appearances are highly detailed and representational. Hidden meanings adorn my pieces like jewels. I do not merely emulate art of past eras – I recreate it as something new, meaningful, and something to touch the heart of the viewer.