Caroline Thomson – The Artists’ Journal

Step into the studio of the Dulwich painter

“As a mother, you are always observing your children,” says the artist, Caroline Thomson.  “Mine engage in a lot of imaginary games which become a rich source of inspiration for my paintings.”

For our latest journey into the lives and practices of our artists, we’re catching up with Caroline in her garden studio in Dulwich in South-East London. It’s an exciting time for her, with several exhibitions coming up over the summer.  She took time out to discuss painting, children’s imaginations and her favourite local gallery.

Can you describe a typical day in the studio?

I get into my garden studio after I’ve dropped my youngest at school.  I have a coffee and look at whatever work I left on the walls from the previous day, trying to decide what my next move might be. I don’t plan out my paintings as such, so they evolve in the making. I’ll either listen to a podcast or music and have recently started listening to audiobooks, so long as they are not too distracting. I have a few paintings on the go at once so if one comes to a standstill, I can move on to another. I’ll normally just be getting into my stride of making in the afternoon before I have to down tools to do the school run. I’ll often take a quick photo of work in progress and sometimes use mark-up on my phone to try out different options of where to take the work next.

Between 2019 and 2022 you participated in the painting programme at Turps Banana Art School in South-East London. How did this period change or influence your work?

I was on the Turps Off Site programme (where you keep your own studio and have mentors and fellow artists visit you in your studio to critique your work) which had just launched when I started in 2019. It was such a fantastic experience even though it was interrupted by the Covid pandemic where I was suddenly having  to homeschool my kids.  My work evolved during this time. I had just started including figures, mostly children, within my paintings, so this element of the work was really given space to develop. Having conversations and crits with the excellent mentors brought new perspectives on the work…and learning the art of slow looking. The friendships I have formed with my cohort and the Turps community have been invaluable.

Your paintings are often based in woodland or forests with scenes of children playing amid a mystical atmosphere created through a kaleidoscope of psychedelic colours. What initially drew you to this subject matter? Are the works influenced by your own childhood?

I use photographs I take of my own children in woods or gardens as a starting point for my paintings.  As a mother, you are always observing your children.  Mine engage in a lot of imaginary games, sword fights and the like, so their world of imaginary play became a rich source of inspiration. The woodland locations are spaces that we visit often down in Sussex.  But through the making of the paintings, they become more fantastical – but still somehow familiar. I’ve long been interested in what the wood or forest represents in our collective consciousness. They are mysterious spaces that ignite our imaginations. While the works aren’t drawn from my childhood specifically, I think that as artists we draw on all our experiences and memories whether that is conscious or not.

Do you have a favourite gallery you like to visit?

I probably visit Dulwich Picture Gallery in South-East London most often due to its proximity. Alongside their permanent collection, they have great temporary exhibitions, which have introduced me to artists such as Winifred Knights and Harald Sohlberg. I also loved the David Milne exhibition. Otherwise, probably The National Gallery; it’s great to be able to pop in and visit your favourites. I also love visiting Pallant House Gallery in Chichester in West Sussex.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve received?

That it’s a marathon not a sprint. That you need time and space to develop your work.

Most cherished possession at home? 

Other than photos (although so much is digital now), probably my art books, which are like friends that you turn to at different times of need. So many of them are catalogues that are out of print so would be very difficult to replace. I also have some treasured art pieces by some of my contemporaries including a wonderful Benjamin Risk pastel drawing that I would be very sad to lose.

Last exhibition you saw?

Danica Lundy at White Cube Gallery at Mason’s Yard in West London. Incredible painter! Densely layered and complicated paintings that employ a variety of painterly approaches as if painted from the inside out.  They need to be seen in person to really appreciate the breadth of them.

What are you working on now?

I currently have an exhibition at Discover Bucks Museum in Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire.  It’s called This Fractured Land (stories from the past and future).  I’m one of five artists showing paintings, photography, prints, film and sculpture inspired by the museum’s collections exploring the changing landscape of England.  It runs until July 7. I have another exhibition, Staged, which runs from July 4 -28 at Studio 1.1 gallery in Shoreditch, in East London. I’m also working on a painting for an exhibition, Compost, that opens at Terrace Gallery in East London at the end of August.

Explore Caroline’s Paintings