Meet Caroline Bullock | Fine Artist

Nature is my muse. It plays a key role in all aspects of my life and art making. As an artist, I have come to understand that my work is simply a visual record of my human attempt to understand the universe. My art explores a broad spectrum of philosophical and scientific questions I have about the nature of reality and impermanence. To answer these questions I look to nature to provide much of the source material for the work such as local flora and wild plants. I then use these materials to create cyanotypes that form the physical backdrop of the work and serve as a direct marker of place in time. Water based media is then added to the cyanotypes to create additional layers of imagery. In some pieces, gravity is allowed to do the work, trusting the paint to forge its own way into myriad shapes and forms. As the paints are poured, they flow and blend, react or crack, serving as an illustration of the microcosmic and macrocosmic vision of the universe. In others, the composition is rendered in dense matte paint, capturing both object and shadow as one, blurring the perception of the two as unique to one another. Despite the disparate approaches to the works, the final paintings are an attempt to understand non-duality through seemingly dualistic processes and imagery.

I am a visual artist in Atlanta, GA and am one of the few “true” locals who can say they were born and raised in Atlanta! My current studio practice is comprised of creating contemporary fine art paintings for galleries, collectors and consultants. I am represented locally by the gallery, Spalding Nix Fine Art, where I sell and exhibit my original works on paper. I also work with multiple art consulting firms nationwide who commission original work for collectors and commercial clients. Additionally, I have a licensing line which these representatives sell to the luxury hospitality industry.

A creative practice can be challenging because it’s inherently risky. Not only do you have to be comfortable with exposing your soul and/or perspective for all to see and judge, but the career itself can be unpredictable. It took many, many years of safe, unfulfilling day jobs before I chose to take the leap into making art full time. Additionally, the very act of “being” an artist is challenging: the only way to “be” an artist is to create the most authentic work you can and know that in order to do so you have to be willing to take risks. Otherwise, you’re on a slippery slope making art for what you think is your audience’s expectations– a recipe for failure. Sometimes the work will speak to your audience and other times it won’t. That’s not what making the work is about. Having a licensing line as a source of passive income has given me the freedom to not be swayed by or dependent upon the whims of culture or trends.

I have learned so much along my winding creative practice path, but primarily that everything in life has a purpose and nothing is a waste of time. I am referring mostly to all of those unfulfilling day jobs that, at the time, seemed only to serve to pay the bills. These jobs taught me invaluable skills that I use in my studio such as how to professionally correspond with clients, conduct marketing, use graphic design to create my websites and press kits and reconcile my books. Half of my time is actually spent outside the studio in front of the computer working on RFQs and invoicing so being armed with these skills helps my practice immensely. Working in a gallery exposed me to all of the hands-on work that artists must know such as how to pack and ship work, create proper checklists, maintain inventory, and install a show. I am grateful to have a gallerist now who handles all of these tasks, but for a long time I did it all myself!

Having a core set of values to anchor my studio and relationships with clients has been invaluable. Determination, consistency, and self-discipline are the building blocks of my creative practice. Additionally, my family instilled in me the key values of kindness, honesty and integrity in all that I do. I have made it a habit to always remember these when I’m making work and interacting with clients.

My work has evolved and undergone many metamorphoses over the years, but my role as an artist has remained unchanged. I attempt to connect and respond to a world that is increasingly and profoundly disconnected from nature and each other. I am interested in questioning and revealing what is often unseen or consciously avoided. The work is personal but universal and it is my understanding that collectors and viewers appreciate my work because it is forever changing. They are always finding a new mark or line, pattern of paint or shift in a metallic sheen that, for me, serves as a signifier of impermanence and transcendence.