Full-time artist Carole Böggemann Peirson was born and raised in the Netherlands. Carole went to a technical college for Graphic Design and received a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing & Communication. An internship abroad was part of the last college and this brought her to the United States for the first time in 1995. Love made her come back many more times after that and she moved overseas permanently in 2000. She now has a home-based studio on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. “I was introduced to a local artist. Adamo was a fabulous painter who lived nearby and taught classes in his home-studio. When I walked through his doors, saw his oil paintings and smelled the turpentine, I knew I was hooked!”

Carole was trained in the classical tradition, by using monochromatic underpaintings and putting transparent glazes (thin layers of transparent colors) on top of the dry underpainting. This is a very labor-intensive technique, but it has the advantage of creating an extra contrast in the work (trans-parent v. opaque) instead of just the contrast of light v. dark colors. After Adamo's passing in 2008, Carole started painting plein air. Working outside on location however, you cannot use the traditional glazing technique, so she started working ‘alla prima’ method (one painting session). This was a bit more challenging, but very rewarding because of the more spontaneous, bold and direct approach to capture the ‘feeling of the moment’ on canvas. She has taken workshops with a lot of amazing contemporary artists, such as: Roger Dale Brown, Bethanne Kinsella Cople, Scott Tallman Powers, John Brandon Sills and Gavin Brooks. Other artists who have helped her to become a better painter are: Tracey Frugoli and Maggie Siner.”

More recently, Carole has started working with oil and cold wax medium and is now creating abstract paintings in her studio. Working with cold wax has been a new challenge, but she's loving the effects of surface texture by using sand, ash or wood shavings in her work. She feels like a kid in a candy store, exploring all the possibilities of working with oil and cold wax and it seems like "the sky is the limit".She is enjoying the process now and not just the end result. "It's a process of letting go of control, since you don't always know what will appear when working with solvents or scraping away layers to reveal underlying layers". This sponteneity is what is so appealing to her and she tries to use the same approach to her life, by living in the moment and enjoying every minute of it rather than focusing too much on the past or future.

"Painting for me is a journey and I'm not sure where it will take me but I definitely know I'm on the right path! The painting process usually starts out as a technical exercise, but when I'm completely in the flow it ends up being a spiritual experience I wish everyone could have.”

Dates: September 1 - 30, 2024

Opening Reception: September 6, 2024 from 5:00pm to 8:00pm

Hours: Tuesday - Saturday: 10am - 5pm

Location: Hagan Fine Art Gallery & Studio, 125 Church Street, Charleston, SC 29401

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