She completed her Masters in Fine Art at Bath Spa University in the UK in 2008 where her exhibition resulted in a sell out show. UK based artist Carol Buddell lives and works from her studio in Bradford-on-Avon.

Artist Statement

I am creating contemporary mixed media oil paintings with collage on linen canvas which range from mantelpiece size to A3 and A4. The raw linen canvas remains visible and a feature in this work. I create an outline using as few marks or brush strokes as possible while maintaining an image that is instantly recognisable. I create narratives with paint, collage, text, fabric, stencils and objects around a central theme such as nature, memories and childhood.

While my work is representational I am also interested in creating different visual planes by mixing flat areas of paint and stencil with hand painted elements and tactile objects that sit in low relief like keys, bees or fabric in my paintings. First hand research of artists such as Julian Opie, Rauchenberg, Warhol, Banksy, Fiona Rae and many others have fed into my work especially in their use of collage, stencil, graphic elements and flat areas of paint contrasting hand painted outlines often using photos as sources.

References to nature can be found throughout my work with found objects such as bees or depicting antlers in paint in response to the growing concern the world is facing with regards to the environment. Bees in particular in my work are a reference to the rapid decline in the bee population which is alarming as they pollinate a majority of the crops we eat.

Having grown up in historical Yorktown, VA and now living and working from my studio in Bradford-on-Avon near Bath, history and storytelling have become a vibrant part of my paintings. Alongside having a strong graphic sense probably from my degree in Communications years of life drawing has led me to paint the essence of what I represent in hand painted outlines contrasted with flat areas of colour. In works like Home sweet Mortgage and Facing the World I have built up layers of meaning by including supporting and subversive collage text referring to what it is to have a home and expectations we put on our future. 

The tactile nature of the paintings create an intimate space where viewer is drawn in to examine the different textures, depths and objects that project slightly out. Some of the collage elements in this work are very personal and others have different symbolic meaning depending on how the viewer interprets them such as rusty keys or butterflies that often project out of the painting in low relief. This participation of the viewer to create their own narrative based on the meaning they bring to the collaged objects is what makes these works different for everyone.