Caroline Wood

Caroline has painted in various forms for thirty years after a twenty year banking career in London. Initially, she discovered a creative flair for Interior Design and Decorative Painting and took a two year City and Guilds course during which she learnt various skills that she found to be invaluable in her painting, from design to colour to technical expertise in using brush and paint. During that period Caroline had commissions painting murals, trompe l’oeil, furniture, decorative paint effects, marbling etc. In the mid 90’s, Caroline and her husband bought a holiday home in the Algarve and she took up watercolour painting, attending classes held by a well known local artist and was soon exhibiting in Lagos and elsewhere. After moving permanently to the Algarve twenty years ago, Caroline spent a number of years learning the art of oil painting under the expert tutelage of another highly regarded artist.

Caroline is best known for her instantly recognisable seascapes. Sometimes these will be photographic type paintings showing the power of the sea and waves and other times a more impressionistic interpretation of big sky and reflections on the sea and beach. In these she uses colour and application of paint to depict the mood and energy of what she sees and feels depending on the time of day and season of the year. In all cases, Caroline employs the traditional method of oil painting, starting with very light washes of colour one on top of the other, which enables her to feel her way into the picture and all its nuances. Caroline uses many layers of paint from very thin glaze washes through to thicker impasto, using water soluble oils which do not require the use of smelly solvents but still take time to dry between layers. The overall effect creates depth and enables the natural colours of light to shine through the sky and water.