On a walk in Golspie, Scotland, a small cut-out of a fairy was nailed to a tree, denying children the opportunity to use their imagination alone. This work alludes to our fixation with what we can physically see, and loss of sensitivity to imagination. Swathes of colour represent life ‘happening’ upon the opaque, pink background.

The initial impetus for this body of work came from drawing during lockdown, when Charlotte became immersed in her surroundings and found a particular interest in the hidden energy that informs all living things. Feeling closely connected to nature herself, she considered the relationship between humans, animals and the land, all of which live according to their own rhythms, side-by-side in continuous flux. Considering the agency of her surrounding landscape, Charlotte’s paintings are focused on the senses and explore the form, colour and texture of both the seen and unseen elements that inform and comprise our surrounding landscapes.

Laying down thin ‘veils’ of colour punctuated by direct marks she creates ‘optical vaults’ through which meaning can be accessed – “the last blast of sun before autumn, hints of animal and flora, landscape and structures as the world of nature merges with life.” She describes her process as ‘live’ painting; a risky technique that forces her to be in the moment with her painting and responsive to changes that occur beyond her control, just as mankind cannot control life through will alone and is always subject to nature.