Carrie Clayden is a native Californian who grew up in Los Gatos, CA. She received her Bachelor of Arts from UCSC in 1995 and now resides in Carmel Valley, CA. Carrie’s work plays with light and motion in the same beat, her brushwork emphasizing the texture of the paint. Her loose and semi-abstracted style suggests structure but leaves the detail to the viewer, allowing for fresh interpretations of familiar forms. Her recent series on horses juxtaposes with her well-known floral works to concentrate the energy of her process into a more rigid composition than the flowers’ freedom, showing mastery over her technique as it adapts to diverse subjects. Carrie is an internationally renowned artist, shown in galleries in both the United States and Europe. In Carrie’s words: "Painting is my passion and main creative outlet. The possibilities are endless. Over the years, countless painters have pushed the medium’s limits in form, process, and technique. For me, this exploration comes from dipping my hands in paint and working the canvas manually, putting a part of myself into the work, and using the power of human touch. The layers of my paintings are memory on canvas, recording time, history, and story as the painting transforms from idea into reality. Though I could paint one canvas forever, I force myself to work on several at once. This constant change brings new perspectives and inspiration, letting my works-in-progress interact. One painting often inspires another, and each work improves through the synthesis of multiple ideas and inspirations. I complete each painting with a single goal, regardless of subject: to transfer the expressive energy and moods I feel as I dance with the paints and canvas into the final product. No performance can ever be truly repeated or recorded, yet each painting becomes a physical manifestation of the ongoing performance and process, revealing its struggles, triumphs, and joys. While my preferred medium is acrylic on canvas, I often draw directly onto it with Stabilo pencil and oil pastels, achieving richer expressions of energy through multimedia. Throughout, painting with complete abandon remains my mission.”