“The outdoors spills through a window or door, location or setting. Pots and plants teeter on the edge of a table whilst trees grow convincingly from rooftops and pillars are cut off abruptly, hovering slightly above ground level. The interiors are minimally furnished with large glass open spaces, leaving it exposed to the vulnerability of the outside world that encroaches upon us. The landscape has no boundaries; we are unable to control and confine it, forcing the inside out and the outside in.” ~ Charlotte Keates, Artist Statement

Ah, I love that artist statement. I also love the insightful words of the grandmother of today’s guest… ‘Nothing in nature clashes.’ Sigh. Grandmas are so smart. London based artist Charlotte Keates and I are talking all about architecture, nature, epic trips in small vans, and even an up close and personal mama bear sighting. Oh boy. You can listen to our chat right up there under Charlotte in her studio, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

First up, these are the architectural “cut-aways” that I brought up right out of the gate, because yes, I totally want to live in one of her paintings:

Ahhhh! So beautiful. And can you see why I asked her if these pieces are mixed media or paintings… doesn’t her chalky underlay look like marbled paper or something? Those dreamy backgrounds are also an excellent example of how wonderful “happy art accidents” can be!

These next few images cover a bunch of things we talked about – she has started working on dark backgrounds lately, not just the light wood she normally uses as her starting place; her love of Palm Springs and the Florida Keys; and of course, the epic North American road trip she went on last year. Here’s a peek:

Palm Springs influence? Um, yep! And, clearly, the Canadian in me had to show some of her Canada-inspired pieces, including the boat house in Banff and the cosmic ray station…

Oooh, I can almost smell the fresh mountain air! So, if you’re going to do a crazy amazing, super scenic trip across North America, it’s a very good idea to travel with your professional photographer boyfriend, Ian Froome, who will capture some very lovely moments along the way:

Gorgeous! Charlotte drawing in their van {before it died}, and Charlotte standing on the edge of a cliff that you could not PAY me to stand on. I wonder if this was moments before the mama bear showed up!? Thank you so much to Charlotte for taking time from her very busy schedule to chat with me; thanks to Saatchi Art for continuing to support me and this podcast; and big high-fives to you for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

Other links:

1. Charlotte on Instagram
2. Golden Acrylics
3. Arusha Gallery, Edinburgh
4. London Art Fair 2018
5. Ian Froome, Photographer / Boyfriend
6. US & Canada… VOTE FOR ME! Bombay Artisan Series