Meet Caroline Estelle

Today we’d like to introduce you to Caroline Estelle.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I have always been creative, and my favorite classes growing up were band and art. I was really fortunate to attend a great school district in Bucks County, PA with amazing art educators. I started seriously pursuing visual art once I went to Penn State for my BFA. This is where I discovered my love for figurative art, and I ended up making a lot of weird oil paintings based on candid pictures of my friends (usually when they were drunk). Towards the end of my undergraduate career, I took several Women’s Studies courses which made me realize I had always been a feminist. Once I graduated I moved to Brooklyn where I spent hours a day commuting on the subway to Manhattan for work, and this is where I was able to do a lot of the feminist art theory reading that has informed my work the most. I moved to Phoenix, so I could attend ASU to earn my MFA, and I am currently in the second year of my program. At ASU I was offered the opportunity to study fashion illustration with Loretta Tedeschi-Cuoco, and those studies have greatly influenced the current direction of my work.

Please tell us about your art.
I am a feminist figurative painter. I work mostly in oil or gouache. My work is about the female body and addressing the contradictory societal pressures that determine how women choose to aesthetically present themselves to the world. I draw a lot of inspiration from the fashion industry and my studies in fashion illustration (I teach the undergraduate fashion illustration class at ASU). The figures in my paintings are distorted to match the idealized “fashion fantasy” proportions that are taught in fashion illustration (every part of the body is elongated and slender). I render the flesh in a grotesque way appearing bruised, dimpled, and in some places dead. Although the figures are in idealized proportions, I keep the aspects of the body that make it human such as wrinkles, folds, lumps, etc. The combination of these distorted proportions and grotesque flesh create an uncanny figure set against a colorful idealized background. There are many interpretations that can be taken from my work because there are many factors and influences I am considering when I create. What I want people to know about my work is that I am not preaching a certain stance to any of the issues I am addressing within the piece. I want people to interpret it for themselves and really consider their feelings towards the female body.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing artists today?
I think the biggest challenge facing artists today is this contemporary attitude that the arts aren’t important. It’s just not true! It breaks my heart to see funding for arts programs in schools get cut. Both the visual arts and music were huge parts of my upbringing, and both have made me a more well-rounded person. If schools put a bigger emphasis on the arts then maybe people would be able to look around their local communities and see how many talented artists are around them. A lot of artists (like myself) sell work for the same amount that you would spend on a cheesy ugly canvas print at Target or Urban Outfitters. Supporting creative thinkers makes the world a better place!

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
I am very active on Instagram (@CarolineEstelleArt), and that’s a great way to see my work. I like to show in-progress pictures and videos of every piece so my followers can see what my process is like. I also have a website, carolineestelle.com. People can support my work by following me on Instagram and watching out for exhibition announcements and also announcements for when work is up for sale. Most of my followers are people in my age group, and we don’t have a lot of money to spend on large oil paintings, so I like to sell smaller studies for affordable prices so that everyone can enjoy original handmade art. My larger oil paintings are also always for sale so if someone sees something they like they call always message me for inquiries!

Contact Info:

• Website: carolineestelle.com
• Email: carolineestelleart@gmail.com
• Instagram: @carolineestelleart

Image Credit:
Caroline Estelle

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