Working with acrylic and mixed media, Corinne takes a blank white canvas and makes it into a new form through the expression of energy which begins to develop a life of it's own and a new entity, creating a vibrant and emotive work. Carol wanted to know more about her inspiration and process.

Carol: What inspires you?

Corinne: I am quite a visual person and always find inspiration in many places, even when I’m not looking. I may see a piece of fabric or dress or a beautiful street with trees or an interesting cloud aspect in the sky and want to translate the basis of this into a painting. I also find great inspiration when on holiday. Last summer I was by the sea where there were many amazing rock formations. On my return I created a painting based on the rock formation colours and textures, it was a fascinating piece!

Carol: How do you start your pieces?

Corinne: I have an idea in mind of what I would like to create after seeing something inspiring and then select a basis of colours/textures I am going to use. I research the topic of what I am creating, be it on the internet or books or galleries.

Carol: Can you tell us a bit about your process?

Corinne: I usually work on large pieces around 1m. I have a worktop to work on so the canvas is placed at the right height for fluid paint. I wear protective gloves as it can get very messy!

I choose my colour selection of paints. I usually paint the canvas white first unless I know its going to be a dark piece and then begin with the first layers of paint. I work with different paint mediums, mostly acrylics and sometimes mix these to create a fluid consistency. As it is fluid it tries to control you and then you try to control it to go where you want it to go. So it is a friendly battle of who is in control – me or the paint?!

I build up layers and leave it to dry which can sometimes take days. Then I go over it to create more layers, until I am happy with the shape and effects.

Carol: Do you know what the pieces are going to look like from the start or do they evolve?

Corinne I have an idea at the beginning but I have learnt to not fixate on keeping to this as the painting does usually evolve to something else and can be even better than the original vision. It always fascinates me that by the end the paintings seem to take on a life of their own.

Carol: Do you have any plans for new work or projects in the future?

Corinne: I used to create a lot of collages and I would love to investigate this again for future projects. I love the textures and rawness collages can create.

Carol: Do you have a typical question that everyone asks you about your work? What is your answer?

Corinne: Many people ask about my use of colour / style - I’m very interested in things that are beautiful and pretty but then have that slight contrast of darkness in them, so things that are pretty and feminine but not perfectly pretty.

Carol: What artist has influenced or inspired you?

Corinne: When I was studying art my art teacher introduced me to the works of Alberto Giacometti, who is one of my ultimate inspirations.

Although my work now does not reflect his type of work, I learnt so much from his pieces, which focused on investigating negative space and how this worked in relation to his subjects.

I am always looking for the negative space in artworks, which is why many of my pieces have a lot of white space in them. It is creating that perfect balance between matter and space that flows and breathes.

Artist In The Spotlight:.....Corinne Natel

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