by Jasmine Hall, UMD Senior and Touchstone Intern
Carolyn Marshall Wright’s art is nothing if not brightly expressive. Her various styles, seen through watercolor and acrylic paint, strike the tenuous balance between realism and abstraction.
“If it’s too easy, I’m not content,” Wright states. She’s determined to challenge herself in her process, adding shapes and marks to make a piece more complex. Despite her high level of skill with realism in both still life and landscapes, Wright pushes herself to see things more geometrically. By using visible brushstrokes and angular forms, often with a highly saturated color palette, Wright transmits her emotions and unique perceptions of what she sees. In doing so, she challenges both herself and the viewer into looking at commonplace objects with a different lens.
“I love to watch the way light hits things,” Wright says. “It’s inspiring to see the difference that it makes and I like to bring that in.” Wright’s painting style relies heavily on her intuition, allowing instinct to decide when to be controlled and when to be more spontaneous with her brushwork. She believes strongly in the need for artists to create art that flows for them, finding direction from what brings them joy.
Wright recounts her experience seeing Pablo Picasso's religious paintings in Barcelona, noting how different his early works of exemplary realism felt in comparison to his famed cubism pieces. “You can tell there’s an emptiness there,” she says of Picasso’s early religious work. “Where did his real masterpieces come [from]? When he broke out of all of that.” Art has always been an important part of Wright’s identity.
As the fifth of six kids, she felt a need to find her own path instead of following in her siblings’ footsteps. Two of her older siblings were already in pursuit of artistic careers, which, in Wright’s mind, made it off limits. However, the love for creating stuck with her, finally taking root when she committed herself to making an original watercolor painting for her home. After numerous art studio classes and hours upon hours of committing to her craft, Wright secured her place as a watercolorist.
Now based in McLean, Virginia, she is a Signature Member of the Virginia Watercolor Society and a past president of Potomac Valley Watercolorists. Wright has also been teaching art for the past 15 years.
Wright maintains a balance of creating art with a clear image and pieces without a detectable subject. Her landscapes combine approaches to the abstract expressionist movement, using elements seen in works by Mark Rothko and Richard Diebenkorn. Her still lifes, more clear in their content, don’t limit themselves to the bounds of reality.“The impact of other artists is really important in terms of my inspiration,” Wright admits.
There is currently a new exhibition on the horizon for Wright. She’s in the process of preparing an entire collection of still lifes in her style of expressive, gestural abstraction. This series continues her focus on mundane objects basking in strong natural lighting.
“I’m paying a lot of attention to my own window sills, the plants on the window sills, and the way the light is.” It’s this level of attention, observation with added elements of visual intrigue, that make Wright’s paintings so captivating. Wright shares how excited she is to be a part of Touchstone Gallery, anticipating the joy of the gallery’s community and its positive impact on her art career.