Scarlett Raven
Scarlett Raven | Safe Space 2023
Owned by celebrities including the Hollywood actor Orlando Bloom, Scarlett's textured landscape paintings have positioned her as one of the most exciting female artists in the UK today. With stylistic influences from Anselm Kiefer, Gustav Klimt and David Hockney, her emotive works are inspired by her personal connection with nature. In her newest release, Safe Space, the artist returns with landscape originals bursting with bright colour and incredible texture.
Scarlett describes creating a safe haven within her landscapes, made-up of several layers, floral foreground, expansive mid-ground, and an intense skyline background that the viewer can almost step inside of and feel the calming, exhilarating or cathartic qualities of nature for themselves, allowing viewers to step inside, take a deep breath and feel the grounding and awe-inspiring influence of nature for themselves. They create an escape, a safe place for viewers to feel whatever range of emotions nature and are inspire for them.
Inspiration
Scarlett’s childhood was defined by creativity. Her father was the late saxophonist Raphael Ravenscroft, who played with acts like ABBA, Pink Floyd, Tina Turner and Marvin Gaye. Encouraged by her model mother, Scarlett explored her artistic side as an escape from her struggle with dyslexia. Following her first solo exhibition on Cork Street, London, at the age of just 21, her career took off and she has since been featured by titles such as ES Magazine,Tate Etc.,Tatler and Time Out. Collaborations have included working with the art supplies retailer Cass Art and the English paint manufacturer Winsor & Newton.
Her innovative collections have included The Danger Tree, which explored the true story of World War One through layers of paint, animation and poetry. For Portrait: The Reason Why I Paint, she experimented with figurative works to depict childhood heroes like Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dalí and Vincent van Gogh. In The Eye of Heaven Shines, she manipulated paint to express the majesty of trees, using abstract forms, patterns and sculptural painting to imply movement. Her collection I am Reborn was inspired by pregnancy and motherhood, whilst her latest, Lasting Impressions, is inspired by her admiration of Vincent Van Gogh and David Hockney.
Working with oil paints and acrylics, Scarlett adds splatters and daubs of paint to replicate the abundance of textures found outdoors. Her landscape works are a way for her to explore the geometry of nature, with elements like water and stars adding a feeling of serenity. Framed in a sustainable wood, all of her limited edition artworks are hand-embellished to echo the multilayered feel of her original paintings.
Scarlett says: “Paint is thrown on, splattered and flicked. Spitting and dancing, it creates a whole world of magic. When people look at these paintings, I want them to feel themselves. I want them to provide somewhere to feel alive, a place to breathe and explore."
Lasting Impressions, is inspired by her admiration of Vincent Van Gogh and David Hockney. The first collection since she returned from maternity leave, and a lot has changed in the meantime. “This is the first time I’ve painted realism, working from photographs I’ve taken from roaming where I live, searching for scenery to paint. I’ve been gathering a feel and understanding of myself through being more conscious of my surroundings”.
Discover Scarlett's latest selection of hand-signed limited edition prints and original mixed media paintings here.
Inside the world of Scarlett Raven
Scarlett Raven's latest collection Lasting Impressions has developed her vivid landscapes since her previous one, painting from images she has photographed near her home, and working in her signature impasto style with great physicality, digging into the layers of paint as a farmer would into the soil.
“Van Gogh is the reason I paint,” explains Scarlett. “In the short period of time he painted and lived, the way he was able to see the world was incredible and I’m trying to see the world in the capacity that he did. “David Hockney also loved Van Gogh’s work; both artists see the extraordinary in an unremarkable view and both are fascinated by the seasons, which bring about continuous change in nature. Hockney once said: ‘Lots of people scan the ground in front of them so they can walk, but they don’t really look at things. Van Gogh really looked’. Now I am really looking.
“In his early career, Hockney moved to Los Angeles and didn’t see the point in painting nature. Only in his later life when he moved back to England and saw what nature really is, he dedicated his life to it and became fascinated,” Scarlett explains.
She, too is driven by a passion for portraying nature. “The sun and moon are always an important feature in my work as they provide life, and everything on the planet relies on it to survive to be seen. I am guided by nature when I paint my scenes. “Lasting Impressions is definitely a progression, a growth, a movement from my last collections. It incorporates everything I’ve learnt, physically, technically, emotionally. Everything has been building up and influencing this collection”.
From the blog
Scarlett Raven - Creating a Safe Space for Everyone
Celebrating International Women's Day
Magazines and brochures
Scarlett Raven | I Am Reborn
Marking a new chapter in Scarlett Raven's artistic journey, I am Reborn is a celebration of her ineffable talent and the renewal she has found in motherhood.
Fine Art Collector | Spring 2021
Showcasing the very best of our artworks, along with behind-the-scenes updates and interviews, the new issue of our Fine Art Collector magazine is a must-read!
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