Caroline Appleyard

Born in Sheffield Caroline now lives in Derbyshire, where she became a full time artist in 2007. She is a self-taught artist with no formal training, and her paintings reflect this in their individuality and originality.

She travels around with her partner Chris in their camper van for much of the summer and she feels this is where she gets the majority of her inspiration from for painting. Her work is drawn from her experiences in Derbyshire, Devon and Scotland and frequently incorporates harbour, coastal and wildlife scenery – her love of the sea is evident in almost all her artwork. Caroline is also a keen scuba diver and often includes the fish and creatures hidden under the water adding to the playful nature of her work. Caroline always takes photos and sketches wherever she travels and this, coupled with her free spirit, enables her observations to come alive on the canvas.

Caroline describes her work as happy, fluffy and a bit mad, somewhat like herself. She likes to create several stories in a picture in order to communicate with the viewer and involve them in the creative process. Caroline explains that the animals and birds in her paintings have faces because they are happy and safe, but that the people don’t have faces because as everyone rushes around in their busy lives they often don’t notice a stranger’s face or the tiny creatures. Caroline believes these creatures are just as important as the people in the picture, so she paints their features to make sure they are noticed and involved in the story depicted. She also always puts Brian the snail in each painting. This is in memory of her father Brian who was a big Magic Roundabout fan.

Her work is happy and fun due to the fact that Caroline loves to paint and is most content when she has a brush in her hand. She always has plenty of ideas of what she would like to paint but also enjoys painting commissions, making an effort to include the clients name on a boat or shop for that extra something special.

Caroline exhibits regularly in the Peak District, Sheffield, Whitby and Devon and has also exhibited at Mall Galleries in London.