ABOUT THIS PAINTING
This original Oil Painting on Canvas is a Still Life from a series I painted called "Opening the book" in which I select a Book I paint within the still life and combine objects I associate with the book. In this painting, I chose to paint Fyodor Dostoyevsky's famous Russian novel "The Double". In the foreground, my copy of the book is lying face down. The cover of the books is lovely painted to represent the illustration. In the background, a music box representing the Kremlin is erected in front of a golden mirror reflecting the hand of the painter. If you look closely, you will see my hand in a blue glove holding 2 brushes as I paint.
DETAILS
TITLE: The Double
ARTIST: Carole Nataf (myself)
SIZE: 12"x16"
SHIPPING: Ships worldwide painting on its canvas
SHIPPING TIME: 3-5 business days.
INSURANCE: Insured shipping
TYPE: Original Oil Painting by Carole Nataf
Artist Bio
Carole Nataf is an experienced London-based artist who was born in France. She has been exhibited in galleries in the U.S., Paris and London including the Mall Galleries and her work is represented in dozens of private collections and publications. She took part in the TV Show Portrait Artist of the Year 2020 on Sky TV. She holds degrees in Philosophy from La Sorbonne (B.A.) and History of Art (M.A.) from the Courtauld Institute.
While studying art privately in Paris, NYC, San Francisco and Boston, she was naturally drawn to painting outdoors and from life, immersed in the heart of her subjects. Influenced by the French impressionists and inspired by contemporary culture, the world she depicts is soft and colorful.
Carole’s more recent work explores contemporary visual culture and the effects of social media, iphone photography and digital culture on representation. Adopting high exposure, saturated colors and distorted angles, her recent portraits express the ambiguity of self-presentation in the digital age.
Artist Statement
Figurative painting is an emotional and imaginative journey, not just an exercise in copying. My work attempts to recreate perceptual impressions and visual effects by developing a coherent, personal language. More than the object of my attention, it is the process of seeing itself, the experience of sight that I wish to lay out on the canvas. Exploring the expressive power and subtle flavors of soft and vibrant colors enables me to get at the heart of what I see.
I am inspired to paint the intimacy of my surroundings and the attraction that absorbing places, stirring people and tantalizing objects exercise on me. As a plein air painter, I favor immediate contact with my subject. However, I do venture painting after digital photography and explore the frustration of its artificial format in my recent portraits.
I approach the creative process as construction work, where simplified shapes are juxtaposed without blending to assemble a landscape, a body or a face. I apply thick brushstrokes onto a wet surface to obtain a rich and juicy texture and to manifest the tangible physical presence of my subject imposing itself.
Follow me on Instagram:
@carole.nataf.art
And my personal website:
www.carolenataf.com