Today we’d like to introduce you to Carolyn Emole
Hi Carolyn, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
As a little girl, I was always coloring and drawing. I was the only child out of 6 that had my own bedroom, so I used to go in there when the sounds of our Italian home was too much for me and would find solace in using my crayons and pencils. Although I considered the idea of being an Olympic ice skater (took lessons too late in life) and an architect (I’m terrible at math)…I guess in some ways, I always knew I’d be an artist.
When I first started out, I learned graphic design and had the privilege of working with some of the top entertainers in the world. I created one-of-kind ads on their behalf in Billboard Magazine, designed plaques and special memorabilia and was fortunate enough to even have some of them in the Smithsonian Museum.
After my parents died 4 months apart when I was 22 years old, I contemplated what I really wanted to do and the only thing that kept being repeated in my head was “to paint.” I then embarked on a journey whereby I would have more “hours in a day to paint,” than anything else.
It took over 7 years to achieve that goal. By then working part-time for a nationally recognized fine artist, Peter Alexander, teaching art to children under 5 and spending the rest of the time painting and drawing. I had sworn off attending any more schooling as I had spent those years going back and forth from full-time college, to taking stand-alone art classes etc…always being left with the thought that no one was teaching me the way I needed. No one was helping me tap into my create voice.
While I was working for Peter, he was in talks to becoming one of the teachers at a brand new college being formulated. They were going to take their teachings from Black Mountain College and Barnsdall College and create unique experience for the students. Sixty students from all over the world would be chosen, in all age groups. There would be three main departments: Paintings, Graphic Design and Furniture Making and there would be electives. The college would work out of an abandoned 60,000 sq foot warehouse in Santa Monica. It would run the “legal” side through Santa Monica College and would have some of the best, well-known artists in Los Angeles and around teaching the students.
After listening in on Peter’s strategy meetings, I became intrigued and in the last moment submitted my portfolio. I always thought that it was because I worked for Peter that I was accepted, but never wanted to truly know that answer, so I never asked the question. Years later, my painting teacher, Laddie John Dill was exasperated with me (as he often was) and shouted at me “Come on Carolyn, you got here on your own…you can do this.” I told him I thought I was accepted into the school because of Peter and he matter-of-factly stated “absolutely not.”
There, at Santa Monica College of Design, Art & Architecture I learned how to tap into my creative voice. I learned that there were questions to ask of oneself and even what some of those questions might be. I learned to paint, to explore, to use charcoal, oil paint and find my voice, I learned how to start seeing and I learned how to create monotypes.
Each of us knew in those years how special the school was, how lucky we were to be a part of this one-of-kind nucleus of budding creativity and exploration. It was challenging and exhilarating all at the time.
From there, my life ended up taking many turns…not the least of which was going on a one-week vacation to the island of Martinque and not returning for 1.5 years later. I left Martinque after 3 months and flew to Paris to be with a man I had fallen in love with. When that brief affair ended, I decided in the last moment to stay in Paris. I became an au-pair, met some friends and when I had time off, I would explore the museum of Paris, take midnight trains to the south of France to Aix-en-Provence to see Cezanne’s studio, go to Giverny to see Monet studio and when vacations would present themselves, I hop on a train and go to Italy and explore there. I soaked up as much visuals as I could, going to museums, churches and artist’s studios. I think seeing the artist’s studios was my favorite. To see the palettes, the oil paint, the canvases …it was all heaven to me.
Once I returned to the U.S., it took a few more years for my life to get where I was painting full-time. I was lucky enough to work for a company that supplied my “bread and butter” art around the world, while at the same time working on my fine art for gallery and museums shows. Finally…I had a wonderful studio in a communal artist building, had my own printing press where I was creating monotypes and was painting full-time. I put in a lot of long, long hours since the I had deadlines all the time with the company while I pursued the gallery route of getting my art out into the world. I had found my voice and worked hard on my mastering my technique and vision.
Then life took more turns for me. I got a puppy and moved to Austin, TX.
Austin didn’t hold the best experiences for me…so once again, after being there for 5.5 years, I returned to L.A.
Today the art world is different, at least for me. It’s all about selling through social media outlets. I tell others “I come from the gallery world”…and today it’s very different. I have a studio in my rental home and I work on my art as much as I can. Although I will admit that most of my time is taken up by “how to pay the bills.” – my art, my visions are never far from my imagination. I’m lucky enough to dream of my paintings – both before I create them and while I’m working on them.
The process, the creative process is nothing “like I thought it would be.” It’s the only time where my mind is quiet, where I’m completely in the practice of creating and although it’s not always an easy road, it’s the one place where I’ve learned the most about myself and about life. It’s a place where if I’m truly honest, I must get out of way and let the development take over.
Art is a great teacher – sometimes a bit of tough love and sometimes a bit of gentle hugs – but no matter what road the path is on, it’s always a learning of self-discovery and uniqueness.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
For me, some of the struggles have come with just marketing my art. Although I’ve had success in the past – with gallery showings, a museum show and studio showings, it’s about how to leverage that and really have a steady stream of income from producing my work. Also, as an abstract artist, I’ve always said that my goal is to have people stop and look at my work. We live in an instant gratification society and so people often feel uncomfortable when you ask them to pause and reflect and look – especially when it comes to artwork. They want to see the landscape or bowl of fruit as that is easier for them to digest. However, when people do stop and see my work, it’s a glorious moment.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
As an abstract expressionist, I’m known for my use of colors and my glazes. My paintings are thin oil paint glazes that sometimes can have up to 20, 30 or more layers of paint. Many people see parts of the human body in my work – but that is never what my work is about. It’s about emotions and movement. I tap into an emotional feeling and then through thought, drawing, prayer and dreams the movement and colors start to come to me. It’s a journey that I never expect to take but one I am so grateful for I’m also known for my charcoal flowers. I hand paint the paper with my own paint recipe and then create flowers from my imaginations not from real flowers. When it comes to my printmaking, my monotypes are known again for their colors but also their lightness and their spontaneous expressions.
What are your plans for the future?
Right now, I plan on continuing with my painting and working on my pieces that are housed in vintage frames. In addition, I started a digital marketing business and hopefully by the end of the year I will have a course that teaches others about painting, the materials and how to tap into their creative expression.
My hope for the future is to get back to a place where I am painting full-time again and putting my art into the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.carolynemole.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolynemole/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carolynemole/
