Today we’d like to introduce you to Caris Palm Turpen.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Caris. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I did a full mural on my bedroom wall when I was five. Completed during naptime, it showed the things I saw and valued and imagined in my everyday life – my neighborhood, friends, pets, parents, a plane high in the sky festooned with streamers (the occupants were having a party), a devil below ground with a palm tree and a little pond (I thought the heat would make him thirsty). My mom stood shocked when she came in to get me up and later would bring in guests to see it. I would sit quietly to the side watching their expressions. I saw for the first time that art, such as it was, could elicit emotions, ideas, and conversation, all while showing a little of how I saw the world. This started me on the path of artist and storyteller.
I began taking photographs with my dad’s camera when I was eight. I was on my high school newspaper and yearbook staff as a writer and photographer, and then moved into professional still photography when I was in college. I funded my college years shooting weddings and drawing portraits. I decided I wanted to work in film as a cameraperson and moved to Los Angeles. I started by shooting stills for various projects and products and then made my way into motion picture camera, initially as a Camera Assistant, then Camera Operator, then Director of Photography or Cinematographer. I continued to paint and sculpt as I could find time. I was invited to apply to Industrial Light & Magic to work in visual effects – one of 2000 initial applicants, then 200 finalists, then 20 interviewees, I was one of two chosen. After leaving ILM, I continued on as a DoP for various projects. I moved to Texas. Then, invited to apply to WISHBONE, I got the job of Visual Effects Supervisor, and also was 2nd Unit Director/DoP. I won my EMMY for my WISHBONE work. When WISHBONE ended, I made a transition out of film into winemaking – I started LightCatcher Winery, and made wine and food and hosted events for eighteen years. I housed a small monograph art gallery and art studio in the winery, showing my paintings and sculptures. I sold the winery property in late 2018 and am now building a new art studio and gallery so I may concentrate fully on only sculpture, painting, and photography.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
My largest personal challenge has been to overcome my natural impatience. My photography work was a direct result of being too impatient to be a realist painter – now that I’m older, I have the patience (mostly, not always) to conceive of and execute a work.
I had to learn how to discern my true path and to perceive when a door was opening, and when it was closing. When it was opening, I had to be brave enough to walk through that doorway. When it was closing, I had to be brave enough to give something up.
I had to learn that you are your own best advocate. People will help you, and there is great goodness out there, but there are also hidden agendas and false friends. Learning how to discern between these is a result of personal experience. Suffice to say I have a pretty good grip on the subject these days.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I created LightCatcher to be an umbrella for all my creativity.
I am driven to ‘make spirit visible’ – I am a Magical Realist. I show you how I see things in the hopes you might step beyond the usual boundaries with me to see more than you might’ve thought of, or perhaps to show you that you’re not alone in seeing beyond the usual.
My new studio and gallery will be a place to work, and to show off, and especially to gather in new and old friends.
Memberships:
National Sculpture Society, Associate Member
TAC/Fort Worth Community Arts Center
TSA/Texas Sculpture Association
TAMMP/Texas Assn of Motion Media Professionals
Dames d’Escoffier, Dallas Chapter
What were you like growing up?
The salient points might be that I have always been something of a loner, I have always loved animals, I read everything I could, I wrote and drew and painted and messed around. Horses, then a motorcycle, then a fast car were my physical escape, and reading and then making art was my way around boundaries. I have always loved intelligence, sensitivity, and bravery. My mom gave me the worst haircuts and I still have little skill with style, but I try.
Like most artists, my major issue has always been one of how do I get my work seen by an audience that might be interested in making it part of their life? People buying your art are not only giving you money, they are exchanging that money for the opportunity to live with your art, which is a tremendous compliment. But you have to find the people that your art fits with. Galleries are the major source of this opportunity. Finding galleries that want to represent you, therefore, is its own challenge, for there’s not a lot of room and you have to constantly prove yourself as being sellable and then collectible. This is its own work, and art.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lightcatcher.com
- Email: info@lightcatcher.com
Image Credit:
Caris Palm Turpen
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
Jerry Swan
April 18, 2019 at 2:07 am
My wife and I were lucky to have met Caris and her husband Terry through the “fast cars” passion about 10 years ago. We love the stories and experiences she shares and her insightful perspective during our many cross-country and cross-continent trips together with our band of Sols! Her passion for the work she pursues shows in everything she does. I know we’ll see more great things from her in this new chapter!