Today we’d like to introduce you to Carolyn Hancock.
Carolyn, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
My first ever lesson was in portraiture, and it sealed my love of representational art, painting what is beautiful in people. But I learned that it takes encouragement, someone who believes that “you can do it.” Twenty years lapsed between that first lesson and my active pursuit of art, when I finally had someone believe in me. Now I feel I’ve met his expectation.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I am a portrait/figurative artist, and my logo says it best: I paint emotion. I love watching a person’s face, as they go from a rigid, contained pose and relax into the face and posture that is natural. That “realness” is what I look for, what I want to paint.
My work is all portraiture, and I paint only in soft pastel. My style is expressive realism, sometimes detailed but often painterly and loose, always depending on what is needed to accurately portray the person. I remain influenced by the rich colors and textures I’ve seen in other countries. My hand may reach for a color and I think, no, not that one. But I’ve learned to trust my color instinct to know what the subject and mood need.
My new series, The Glamour Women, recreates cinema legends. I feel the paintings echo so many of the raw emotions and the vulnerability exemplified by the #metoo movement that I am seeking exhibition venues, and offer an exhibition proposal at https://userfiles.faso.us/17877/6780.pdf.
The Glamour Women paintings are beautiful in their own right, yet they represent three important issues. They salute representational art, painting what is real. They join the renaissance of portraiture, faces that look back at us with emotion, character, and beauty. They represent the #metoo movement, a visual story of women who decades ago succeeded in a world of harassment, abuse, and discrimination.
What do you know now that you wished you had learned earlier?
Decide on the subject matter you most love and the medium you most enjoy. Concentrate on those two things; spend your time and money learning them. You will beat the learning curve more quickly than if you diversify trying all genres and media. Spend an equal amount of time on marketing, learning social media, and building your contact list. Then communicate with the people on that list—often—not selling, just sharing your work.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
My website gallery, carolynhancock.com, presents my work in the best possible way: it’s always open, the viewer can zoom for a closer look, and pricing and purchase are easy. My paintings are juried into national and regional exhibitions, including Art of the Pastel April 24 – May 27 at The Center for the Arts and Sciences in Clute, Texas. The Cultural Activities Center in Temple, Texas, invited The Glamour Women series for a solo exhibition February 2019. I enjoy doing commission portraits and appreciate collectors who understand the legacy of a portrait.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2215 Sand Court, Richmond TX
- Website: https://carolynhancock.com
- Phone: 281-382-6683
- Email: carolyn@carolynhancock.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolynhancockportraits/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carolyn.b.hancock
- Other: https://www.facebook.com/theglamourwomen/
Image Credit:
Carolyn Hancock
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