Carlyle Upson

STATEMENT

Carlyle Upson’s saturated paintings of kelp, seaweed and seagrass are inspired by the loose freeness of floating in the water – a sensation experienced through kayaking, snorkeling, scuba diving and swimming.  This new work represents both an expansion and deepening of the artist’s approach, embodying immersion in nature.

The gentle movement in these oceanic watercolor images evoke the feeling of being submerged under the water’s surface, watching dappled light filter through the waves. Upson’s rounded, swirling brushstrokes depict an undersea realm suspended in transition and time.  Engulfed in charging energy, the artist’s loose compositions evoke a sense of submerged tingling with paintings like Scuba Leaky Goggles and Scuba Bobbing  – where the viewer feels inundated and overwhelmed by the sea.

Carlyle’s iterative “looping” process of repetitively painting the same subject, serves to strip imagery down to its simplified forms.  A field of drenched seagrass is reduced to an energetic composition of delicate sinuous lines drawn with long gestural brushstrokes.   “I feel inspired by the drawings of Charles Darwin, a travel scientist, who documented subtle variations in creatures by repeatedly drawing them to document both consistencies and exceptions.”  Through direct observation, the artist strives to paint the ineffable qualities of mundane natural creatures like kelp, horseshoe crabs, scarab beetles and grasses…. seeking to draw out beauty in lesser-appreciated creatures. 

Solo Exhibitions