Intense Beauty

Abstract landscape painter Carolyn Taylor also has a parallel career teaching a centuries-old craft – perfect for alternative Christmas decorations

- Sandra Smith

As soon as I discovered Carolyn Taylor’s abstract landscapes I was smitten. The depth of her images, each a standing ovation of artistic theatre, pulls you slap-bang into the moment. Temporarily you deliberate neither subject nor medium. Technique? The artist’s background? There’s no space for such details; they can wait until you are sufficiently sated to step back, take a breath and recognise that you are witnessing a painting of intense power and beauty.

And that’s not all. This Chandlers Ford artist is one of the county’s finest, but her interest in crafts drives her to produce three-dimensional decorative designs via an art form which dates back centuries. From her home she explains the influences behind her creativity.

“I did a Fine Art degree which included a lot of sculpture work. I like dabbling in all sorts of bits. I used to machine embroider fabric onto paintings. I’ve known about quilling since I was little and it’s had a bit of a revival as a contemporary craft. People might know it as filigree.”

We discuss landscapes and the areas which are translated onto canvas. “They are all places where we go walking,” says the 43 year-old who teaches acrylics, mixed media and watercolour painting. “There’s The New Forest and Farley Mount where we sledge in the winter.”