Artist: Brynn Carter
Medium: Acrylic, Mixed Media
Artist Bio:
I’ve been creating in some way since I was very young. The first project I remember was a papier mache’ duck puppet that I made with my grandmother.
Fast forward to college at California State University Long Beach, where I took a variety of two- and three-dimensional art classes. I especially enjoyed figure drawing, rendering and illustration. By 1972 I’d earned a BA in Art, and then went on to get an elementary teaching credential. In 1988 I completed a PhD in Educational Foundations at Oregon State University. For most of my career, I was a public school administrator, and much too busy for serious art, although I did crafty things with my children. And I enjoyed sewing costumes, creating with papier mache’, and making puppets and dolls.
After retirement, I began to “reinvent” myself as an artist. I had done nothing that I considered to be “real art” for about 40 years, so I’d lost my skills and confidence. Then in 2011, I made one of my best decisions ever and joined the Corvallis Art Guild. Through the Guild, I began participating in a monthly “critique group” and have benefited enormously by sharing works in progress. During critique we talk about things like an artist’s intent, process, successful elements in a work, and suggestions for aspects that could be improved. For me, critique group has been educational, encouraging, and inspirational. I also began taking figure drawing classes at Benton Center with local artist, Mark Allison. Some of my favorite works began as five- to twenty-minute sketches in one of those classes.
Between 2011 and 2013, I authored and illustrated three books for children: Songs for Bears, The Puppet Explained, and Fine as Frog’s Hair.
In 2014 my cousin and I opened a gallery in Canby - “Spring Chickens Art and Handcrafts” - where we specialized in art that was whimsical, and we taught a variety of classes for children and adults. We closed the galley in 2016 and I moved back to Corvallis.
These days I still enjoy figure drawing. I’ve found that trying to “feel” the model’s pose within my own body helps me to capture it in a drawing. Another strategy that’s helpful is looking for and drawing the “negative” shapes beyond a model. I now think I’m the best “figure drawing” artist In Corvallis, but not many places where one can display nudes. When painting, I work with acrylics and like to do whimsical images and portraits. My illustrations are very much mixed-media projects. I’m definitely interested in collaborations with authors. And for the sheer fun of it, I love to paint rocks with my granddaughter. We hide them for people to find.
ARTIST CONTACT LINKS
Ph# 541-231-7569
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