Charlotte Guest’s blossoming art practice
Picking up the paintbrush started as a bit of a self-care hobby for Charlotte. But now it is more than just her that gets to enjoy all of the flowers that blossom from her canvases.
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“I started painting a little over a year ago as a way to destress and decompress from working on my thesis. Things were not going well at the time and I felt I may drop out of my course altogether, which scared me,” says Charlotte.
Having worked in book publishing and bookselling for close to a decade, and also being a creative writer, Charlotte wanted to try something visual to exercise a different part of her brain.
Not being any good at cooking or gardening, and “definitely not singing”, she dragged out some old paints from under the stairs and gave watercoloring a go.
“I started posting them on my Instagram and the response was really encouraging. I’ve since shifted to acrylic paints and am exploring still life at the moment.”
But the artist’s still life paintings aren’t created in the traditional way of painting what you see in front of you.
“They’re actually never based on real life arrangements! I make them up entirely, which I think suits the more illustrative style of these pieces – as opposed to representational, trying to make them look life-like,” says Charlotte.
“I’m keen on further exploring the flattened perspective that I’ve discovered in these miniatures: collapsing three- dimensional objects into two-dimensional shapes and patterns."
I make them up entirely, which I think suits the more illustrative style of these pieces – as opposed to representational, trying to make them look life-like
The Australian artist says that this theme has been continued in some of her recent paintings of busy kitchen tables, which she has enjoyed putting together.
“I’ve also started a series of fun palm- sized posies: very small canvases that can fit in the palm of your hand, exploding with colour, floral designs, and finished with flecks of gold.”
Each of these pieces are framed by Charlotte’s partner, Benjamin Hoffman.
“I wouldn’t have gotten this far without him and his encouragement. When I started out, I would throw a lot of paintings away thinking they were shit, and he would go and fish them out the bin and keep them in what I call his ‘shit art stash’!
“He now frames, packs and transports all my paintings, and is basically the infrastructure behind my whole art practice.
“Our dream is to have a studio featuring my work and offering his art services to other local artists: framing, custom packing, exhibition installation, photographing art for prints, etcetera.
“I think we’re on our way to making that a reality! It’s all a bit exciting.”
Geelong, Australia
Photography by Benjamin Hoffman
