Meet Caitlin Rose | Contemporary Painter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Caitlin Rose and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Caitlin, what do you attribute your success to?
I think truly being myself in my work has been a major factor behind the success of my brand. I used to spend a lot of my time trying to create a certain style or painting that would sell. Ultimately that led to a lot of art I wasn’t happy with or that didn’t feel like “me”. I used to create extra work for myself by making art I wanted to make and then making art for buyers. That left me feeling stuck in an endless cycle of catch up and discontent. I have faced a lot of personal battles within the past 3-4 years, and I began focusing on showing that in my new works. The more I began to show myself in my work and share the stories behind personal pieces, the more successful my brand became. I’m still learning and growing in my craft. My artwork will grow and change as I grow and change, and I try to keep that mindset. I find success in sharing my vulnerabilities and struggles with the world through my paintings. I share these stories in hopes they’ll comfort someone else. There is great strength in vulnerability and there is always beauty in grief or pain. When I started taking these life lessons and turning them into series of paintings, both my success and my vision changed.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My art is raw emotion with a pretty filter. It is both a journey of self-exploration and a lesson in healing. I’m proud of my growth in recent years. If you view my art from 2019 to now, you can see a progression of self-awareness and self-worth. I believe I’ve always created art as a way to connect or communicate with the world around me. My art journey is also my personal journey. To know my art is to know me. I used to spend a lot of energy speaking to other people through my artwork. I’ve created a lot of work focused on strength in vulnerability – encouraging others to face their feelings or not be ashamed of their internal struggles. In recent years, my work has focused more on personal healing and my own internal reflection. I typically work with acrylic and watercolor paints. Most of my work includes bold colors and layers of paint drips exposing the under-layers of the piece. Exposing these under-layers and allowing the paint to melt throughout the canvas adds to the vulnerable nature of each painting. I love using bold hues and experimenting with different color combinations when planning a piece. I typically have the color idea before I have the image of the painting in my head. I want my artwork to capture you from across the room, and continue to capture you as you move closer to it. It is my goal to create a relationship between the painting and the viewer. You will notice a theme of circles and roses in my paintings. The circles come from my love for capturing the emotion in someone’s eyes. That led to my exploration of portraying feelings through circular patterns of color. The roses came from a phase of personal growth and trying to make light of dark battles. I created a series of what I call “flowerhead” paintings, focused on portraying strength in vulnerability. From there, the roses kept popping up in newer works as a symbol of staying true to myself and dedicated to this path I’ve been on. As I’ve reached a transition period in my life this past year, the roses have slowly begun to fade. I’d like to believe new motifs will pop up as I continue to grow in my work.
I’m currently working on one of the most raw and challenging series of paintings I’ve faced so far – a series on grief. I’m excited to share this part of myself with my audience because I’ve been working so hard on staying true to myself lately. I think it is so important for each of us to make room for the hard days so we can truly appreciate the good ones. Art gives each of us an avenue toward self discovery while also creating opportunity for connection. I want to use that power that art carries to help others cope, feel understood, or simply feel less alone. We are all working masterpieces, and we all need touch ups some times. We all go through phases or progressions of growth.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have so many people to credit! I wouldn’t be anywhere close to where I am today without my high school and college art professors – Bill Gingles from CE Byrd High School and Bruce Allen from Centenary College of Louisiana. They were always so supportive with their teachings and helped me see my potential. They challenged me and helped me grow confidently in my craft. Artist friends – Brittany Gardner, Whitney Tates, Ben Moss, Hannah Kent, Hillary Frazier (just to name a few). We have all worked together, shared artist calls, and supported one another over the years. I think staying involved with creative people is so important for all artists, musicians, performers, etc. I have to credit Minicine owned by David Nelson in Shreveport, LA. David has always been extremely supportive of the creative community in Shreveport, and ran with every show idea I threw at him. I had one of my first shows out of college there and my first solo show as a full time artist there. They recently closed their doors to future events. Bon Temps Coffee Bar is another place I can credit for always supporting my big ideas and helping me grow as an entrepreneur.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caitthepainter/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitlinroseart/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/caitlinart/

Image Credits
The photos of me are by Dustin Lush