Carly Ashdown

Lives and works: London
Education: The Tavistock Institute
“Art expresses something that cannot be shared in any other way; it allows a deeper context from which to view life.”

Expressive, dynamic and vibrant, Carly's figurative art draws upon the profound experience of being alive.

Inspiration

Her desire to explore the nature of being human saw her train in psychotherapy at the Tavistock Institute in London and volunteer for the mental health charity, Mind. Symbolising themes of personal transformation and understanding, Carly’s powerful females dance across the canvas, revealing the ability of paint to seduce through illusion.

Inspired by artists like Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, Carly uses splashes of colour to evoke a sense of movement. The calming colour scheme encourages tranquillity, while the flowing text and scribbles express deep emotions.

Carly says: “I feel that my pieces speak of the quiet place within us all, and the sense of serenity that we can lose connection with as we carry out our daily routines. My work offers a window into that world.”

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Inside the world of Carly Ashdown

When starting to paint, Carly intends to create something magical. She sketches a basic outline with a rough idea of the colour palette before building colours and responding to the way the paint and words land on the canvas. As she works quickly, there is a wonderful sense of life, energy and movement. 

I can be quite a ‘stress-head’ outside of my work studio," the artist jokes. "When I paint, I enter a Zen-like space – so it’s not surprising that my work offers a window into that world. I wait for the right moment and then I write whatever comes to me. It’s incredibly fast and very alive – like pure energy as the sentences hit the canvas."

From the blog

In the studio with Carly Ashdown

Join us as we explore the figurative painter's artspace.

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