Today we’d like to introduce you to Carrie Dietz Brown.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I’m a musician/guitar teacher, and I studied painting in college. After graduating with a degree in painting, I worked on getting shows and building up new work. During college, my work was mainly pen and ink drawings for zines, illustrations, album art for friends putting out records. Around 2012 I pivoted to primary using watercolor to paint detailed paintings that empower the quiet moments of everyday life. I had my first solo show at FORT gallery in San Francisco in 2015. After that, I showed my work in several group shows and art walks. In 2018 I had a solo show at Suite6 gallery in the South Bay. Since then, I’ve been teaching watercolor workshops and working on a new body of work.
Please tell us about your art.
I make watercolor paintings that range from small to medium scale. They are often detailed and show women sharing space together. Themes of mapping, cultivating, practicing, and creating are consistent throughout my work. I used to really push the importance of empowering the quiet moments that people share with others as they move through the day. My most recent work still makes space for the quiet, but there is also more growth happening within the scenes. For example, in older work, I incorporated lots of tiny handwritten text that would label parts of the image. This would lead the viewer around the scene, giving them ideas of what to think about. Now I’m more likely to take up more space with color and darker values to direct the viewer experience.
What do you think about the conditions for artists today? Has life become easier or harder for artists in recent years? What can cities like ours do to encourage and help art and artists thrive?
Since I live in Los Angeles, there is an endless amount of art being made. I try to encourage myself to go support other artists/spaces/communities and bring those experiences back to my work. I guess I would encourage others to do the same. Listen to bookworm on kcrw. Go to LACMA alone. Go to openings, go to shows, go see your friends play music at shitty venues, go to Zuma beach. Call your grandma. Take a bath. Volunteer. Just try to consume other art and work made by people who are interesting to you. Anytime I’m making bummer work I know it’s time to try harder. I visit all the art that gives me something. I listen to my favorite albums. I try to read more than usual. If you are in a slump, take in as much as you can for a bit and consider that your work. Then go and practice like crazy.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
I have work up at the suite6 gallery in Manhattan Beach. Suite6 is also where I teach watercolor workshops and where I’m doing a watercolor floral installation in July. My paintings will be up at Big Door Studios on June 20th for the ESAW. People can also reach out and view/purchase prints of my work on my website: carriedietzbrown.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: Carriedietzbrown.com
- Email: carriedietzbrown@gmail.com
- Instagram: @cdietzbrown
Image Credit:
Carrie Dietz Brown
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