Today we’d like to introduce you to Caroline Stoughton.
Caroline, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When I was little, I loved coloring, drawing, and the idea of being a pop star! Haha. I was always like a magnet to colorful things and places where I could see animals or flowers. I was fascinated by both of them! That hasn’t changed one bit in my adulthood. I did community theatre when I was in grade school through high school. I loved being on stage and the immediate reactions you would receive from your performance. You would know if you were doing a good job. Art, however, really differed from that. It wasn’t about a reaction from anyone. It was all how you felt. So, I started really understanding my own painting world when I was about 15 years old and sold my first painting at that point while I was in high school. My art at that time became a very crucial part of my life. My grandmother was becoming ill, and I was very very close to her. Painting was something that kept my thoughts from spiraling downwards during that extraordinarily tough time… It’s when I started to use the bold color choices that I use in my paintings still to this day. It was a way for me to express all of the feelings, both the confusing ones that were coming up during the years my grandmother was sick and also the positive feelings I was trying to bring back to the forefront of my mind, feelings from the memories of her and I when everything felt like flowers and rainbows!
When I went off to college, I decided to study art but was also pursuing all these little pop-up art shows every opportunity I could, as in 5 times a month! I was driving back and forth all the time just to get my art in front of people, as well as continuing community theatre. At that point I was also auditioning commercially and for TV/film. I ended up transferring schools to go to Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After graduating there, I had a home studio for a while and continued to develop my art and my practice. I traveled Europe a lot during my 20s, taking in all the sights and seeing all the art and beautiful landscapes I could. Like most, I worked a bunch of odd jobs. I was a therapy miniature horse handler, worked at the zoo, daycares, swim instructing, all of it! After a while I decided to put a cold stop to all of that and fully focused on my artistic endeavors. As an artist, when I went for too long of a period of time without making art whether it was acting in a short film or painting, I really felt like a part of me was completely gone and it took me a while to figure out that I need art in my life consistently, so that is what I did! When I wasn’t painting, I was submitting self-taped auditions and coaching other actors on their auditions which are all things that I continue to this day. I have since moved my art studio out of the house to a beautiful space in Philadelphia that I actually have to drive to! Haha. I stay in Los Angeles when an acting or art opportunity pops up or when I simply feel the need for a change of pace.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I think there are always obstacles. One constant obstacle is figuring out how to make peace with sharing your deep thoughts that naturally come through when you make art but sharing them with EVERYONE. Especially in an age where it is so important to be on social media and constantly accessible in a way, it a lot of times feels like you are revealing your innermost self, and that can be scary. My paintings, for instance, all stem from feelings from being very, very young before knowing the evil in the world and *treasuring the feelings from those moments because the memories often don’t last.* All of that comes from a very sensitive place in my mind that could easily get me choked up to talk about, but I get to make art about it!!! That is something I always need to remind myself of. I get to paint the joy from when we were little. Not everyone is going to judge in a bad way. The art that I put into the world may help someone.
Another challenge is accepting rejection, learning how to use it as fuel, and remembering that it just wasn’t the opportunity that was meant for you. In acting and art, there are way more no’s than yeses, and a lot of times, you hear nothing at all, complete silence. The silence is mostly in acting; you usually don’t get a no, at least in the art world; you’re typically sent a “we regret to inform you” email after you submit to a show or a residency. It’s just something I always have to remind myself that it all gets you closer to a yes, and the opportunities that did not work out were not MEANT to work out.
Another obstacle is just the obstacle of being an entrepreneur in general, in both art practices, acting and fine art/visual art, you are running a business! And a lot of times you, yourself are every single aspect of it. With that being said, you simultaneously have to remove yourself from the business side in order to make art for art’s sake, make meaningful art, and be connected in the scene, and that balance is hard to manage sometimes.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a visual artist and TV/film and commercial actor! My visual art consists mostly of paintings, some drawings but mostly oil and acrylic paintings of subjects from nature. I use a lot of highly pigmented warm and cool VIBRANT colors. I also include a lot of texture in my work. I lay the paint on with a palette knife most often, and it dries exactly in the same way that I applied it to the canvas so if you look at many of my paintings from the sides, there are a lot of peaks of paint and applications that look like they are still wet, but the painting is totally dry! Right now, I am gaining the most inspiration from flowers and tropical leaves. I arrange flowers in my studio in different ways, and a lot of times I end up creating the idea for a flower from my mind from all of the different botanical gardens and beautiful nature I’ve been lucky enough to see. Whenever I am spending time in LA, I am always in awe of the palm trees and other tropical plants and lilies and petra croton and all these beautiful leaves and petals that I see. I see the LA residents who live there year-round not noticing them because they see them every day, and I think that sums up a lot of what I think about when I look at my recent paintings. There is beauty all around us and it feels like most of us are consistently so busy with life that we don’t even really SEE life. From different experiences I’ve gone through that my art gains inspiration from, I have really come to understand that all we have is a moment. Somehow, we still walk with our heads down and on our phones most of the day, not even noticing the inspiration that we have so easily available. I hope that my work serves as a reminder to notice the world around you and hopefully even see more colors in your daily life.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I have written over 1,000 songs. Haha! Sometimes art spills into other avenues of art than the one you initially pursued, and you just can’t help it! I have released one song, although I freestyle multiple times a week when I am driving, and sometimes the most real, deepest, and catchiest lyrics come out! Second surprising thing,
I do not even own any grey or black paint! I love bright colors so much, like pinks, purples, oranges, and blues, that I often substitute purple or green for a really dark color when I need one!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.carolinestoughton.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/carolinestoughton
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100031869234447
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC88zgzZhmuftI-N7DP9lobA
- Other: Imdb.me/carolinestoughton
Image Credits
Caroline Stoughton
Atisha Fordyce
Evan Davis
