Carol Aust works in acrylic on canvas and wood panels from her studio in Oakland, California. Her figurative paintings are emotionally-charged narrative fragments infused with mysterious tension and secrecy. She often places her figures in precarious environments where anything could happen.

Sometimes celebratory, sometimes lonely and disturbing, her paintings express a wide range of human desire and yearning. Aust’s work consistently features strong and vibrant colors along with figures that are both engaging and vulnerable.

Through her own private study she has been influenced by artists such as Emil Nolde, Marc Chagall, Kathe Kollwitz, and the German expressionists.

Statement:

“I work with acrylics on canvas and wood panels. Through my figurative paintings, I endeavor to express the human need for connection and belonging and the difficulty of achieving either. Each subject in my paintings is at some critical juncture of a spiritual/psychological journey.

“My figurative paintings are emotionally-charged narrative fragments infused with tension and secrecy. Sometimes celebratory, sometimes lonely and disturbing, my paintings express a wide range of human desires and yearnings. My work consistently features strong and vibrant colors along with figures that are both engaging and vulnerable.”

“My method is to have some starting point—a curve of beach, a combination of colors, or a child on a hip, for example—and then be open to surprises. I layer contrasting colors, adding and subtracting figures and clouds and trees until the work feels complete but mysterious.”

“I believe that creating art is like raising children, and just as leaving home is a process, a painting isn’t necessarily finished once I sign the corner. In fact, its life has just begun. When a painting leaves my studio and elicits responses from viewers, the art becomes a living force in the world. Viewers of my work add the next chapter to the unfinished story, explaining why the woman is traveling alone, why the couple is dancing in the clouds, why the party is being held in the desert.”