Statement

      "the landscape i paint is from a past
      that no longer exists the same
      of this i'll make something new."

      "And she laid a pale wash,
      translucent,
      over the figures,
      like a layer of time"

These are fragments from my poems recently published in "Sr Citizen", a book of poetry written in English and Spanish that includes my paintings, photos and drawings. Painting and drawing has always been an important for me as you can tell from these snippets; they colour the way I look at life.

      "To the rhythm of bulería
      choreography of brushstrokes,
      thick, satiated with colour."

The short film I made recently, "The dance of the brushes", also includes references to painting and inparticular to the influence of Picasso, but I am also looking for other ways to express my ideas, in this case through dance and the peculiarities of film.

I have continued painting here in Spain and in 2011 had an exhibition of flamenco inspired photos and paintings in the flamenco shop "deflamenco" in the centre of Madrid. deflamenco.com.

      "The absence of an empty canvas"

After having an exhibition I usually feel a little empty but these moments are good to stand back and reflect on all the work I have done and I have been thinking about this as I've put together this page of my early work. Here are some thoughts:

Some paintings I painted over with new works. It wasn't that the first painting was bad but just that I was in a period of experimentation and needed to keep on painting on what was to hand. Everything I did, including works that I later destroyed or painted over, has helped me develop as an artist.

There is a lot of red and green and brown in these paintings. I don't know why. Perhaps the green and brown are very earthy colours and reflect my work on the farm, and I needed that contrast - the flash of red - to represent life bursting forth?

      "she and he met in an incidental splash
      of savage colours.
      colours that didn't fit together… they detonated."

The paintings are like a diary in a way. As I look back through them I'm reminded of times and places, people, stories, different studios, journeys. I wouldn't change any of them although I'd like to revisit ideas and techniques I used to create them. They become a large catalogue of my approaches to art and so in contemplating them I feel inspired as when I go to an exhibition that I like.

I hope you enjoy looking through these paintings. Please feel free to leave comments or to write if you have any questions. Also, I'd be very happy to find new homes for these works so if you are interested do write to me at info@charlesolsen.es.

Also, if you are interested in finding out more about my book "Sr Citizen" you can see a preview on my poetry blog: pensamientoslentos.blogspot.com. And you can buy it directly from the publisher online: amargordediciones.es (page in Spanish) or on AMAZON.COM

Charles Olsen