Carol McGraw's Nomination | Baker Artist Awards

Carol McGraw

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Maladies 2, 2012 - Ongoing

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We all have our challenges, big and small, and we all do what it takes to get through those challenges. I have often used my artwork to help me get through hard times. When I was a kid, I sketched alternate lives as an escape from my own. As a young adult, my sketchbooks helped me to sort out my feelings. I still sketch, paint and collage my way through the ups and downs of life.

I have been diagnosed with several chronic disorders that affect my daily life. I began painting this series to work through some particularly difficult days. I chose to look at my world simply and whimsically, including charting out the disorders which include narcolepsy, depression, anxiety and chronic migraine headaches.

Maladies 1, 2011 - Ongoing

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We all have our challenges, big and small, and we all do what it takes to get through those challenges. I have often used my artwork to help me get through hard times. When I was a kid, I sketched alternate lives as an escape from my own. As a young adult, my sketchbooks helped me to sort out my feelings.

I have been diagnosed with several chronic disorders that affect my daily life. I began painting this series to work through some particularly difficult days. Rather than examining the problems abstractly, I chose to look at myself simply and whimsically, adding dripped paint to indicate the different dimensions of the disorders, which include narcolepsy, depression, anxiety and chronic migraine headaches.

Memories, 2002 - Ongoing

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I am looking back historically and scientifically to turn up clues as to how I became who I am. What events do I remember and how do I remember them? I would like to compare these little histories with my siblings' memories. How much does time wear away and how much does time embellish. Does your outlook change the filter of your memories compared to those who shared them with you?

Groupings and Structures, 2011 - Ongoing

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Most of my previous abstract work has involved groupings of organic shapes. They were created without any preconceived notions. In these new works, I am particularly interested in depicting groupings and structures, their relationships and the meanings I find within them.

Lately, I find myself drawn (forgive the pun) to groups of things. Part of this is because I was literally born in the middle of a grouping of eight siblings and we have carried a very tight bond for the 50-plus years that I have been alive.

Abstracts , 2010 - 2011

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At this point in time, I took a leap and began to paint without subject matter at hand, just a blank canvas or piece of paper. I felt, in this way, I could open myself up to explore the elements that come naturally from within.

I started by making marks and was surprised to find organic shapes forming. Themes evolved, speaking to me of my ties to nature: the earth, sky and sea. I felt the connection to my body on a cellular level, cells racing through my bloodstream, clustering. I got a sense of swimming, floating, being lifted up. I could feel my emotions: anxieties and fears as well as hopes and dreams, all tied to my past, present, and future.

Figures 4, November 2011

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Recently, I was invited to participate in a multimedia workshop focusing on the figure. This workshop was being run by my longtime teacher, mentor and friend, Tammra Sigler. I have taken Tammra's summer figure painting for quite a few years and each year I feel looser and more free in my expression. For much of this day and a half workshop the model was in constant movement, dancing around with a hula hoop. This atmosphere allowed for an instant reaction to the energy at a basic, instinctual level.

Figures 3, 2010

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In this continuation of my paintings of clothed models, I worked on amping up the abstraction and the energy level. The model was moving during the standing poses. I used bright, exaggerated colors and added charcoal to the painting process.

Figures 2, 2008 - 2009

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I have a fascination with the human figure. I have been painting from live models for years, both nude and clothed. The paintings in this grouping were rendered from clothed models over a two year period. I prefer clothed to nude models as the garments give me more to work with in terms of color, shape and line.

My aim is not to capture a likeness, but to set a mood or an attitude. It often has more to do with what is going on within myself than the model. I exaggerate the elements to achieve the feeling I want to express.

I tend to work very quickly, composing and reassessing as I go. I enjoyed working on 140# hot press paper for these pieces instead of on canvas as the smoother surface allowed for a speedier application and a lighter overall look to the work.

Figures 1, 2004 - 2008

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This body of works contains early figure paintings done in acrylic on canvas. I love painting the human figure in a loose, abstracted form. Although freedom of color has always been very important to me, two of these were painted with an intentionally limited palette.