Featured Artist: Carlina Ridgeway

Alongside dabbling with life drawing over the years, I have had experience working in various industries, the latest being as a teacher in the community, predominantly teaching English to adults.
As well as using art as a vehicle for teaching English language to adults who have recently arrived in Australia, I have also facilitated beginner drawing classes on occasion. I have been drawn to art since childhood, (please excuse the pun), so when I lost my work hours due to COVID, I enrolled at Deakin University in the Bachelor of Visual Art and began to pursue my life’s dream. Apart from the life drawings here, these works were undertaken since July 2020. I have never really painted before, except for a few workshops using water colour. Currently I am playing with acrylics, in order to understand colour better, but soon I plan to start using oils.
I submitted two paintings from my doors series, (series of six paintings), in HBAS “From the Heart” exhibition, and here you will see two more; one is a winery in Alsace and the other is looking out from the Dali Museum in Figueres. As I travelled through Asia and Europe in recent years, I found myself drawn to photographing gates, doors and various entries; looking in and looking out. This Doors project has two purposes. Firstly as a vehicle to teach me to paint, and secondly to work towards a major piece on a large canvas, or a large series, in oils.
Additionally, though I think its a big challenge when I can’t really draw faces, I was determined to paint portraits of my three daughters. The first took three months, the second three weeks, the third three days. I consider them “works in progress”. I have included images of the oldest and youngest daughter here.
I’m looking forward to immersing myself in my art community, sharing, mentoring and being mentored. How exciting, to start the year off sharing my work with you all.
As well as using art as a vehicle for teaching English language to adults who have recently arrived in Australia, I have also facilitated beginner drawing classes on occasion. I have been drawn to art since childhood, (please excuse the pun), so when I lost my work hours due to COVID, I enrolled at Deakin University in the Bachelor of Visual Art and began to pursue my life’s dream. Apart from the life drawings here, these works were undertaken since July 2020. I have never really painted before, except for a few workshops using water colour. Currently I am playing with acrylics, in order to understand colour better, but soon I plan to start using oils.
I submitted two paintings from my doors series, (series of six paintings), in HBAS “From the Heart” exhibition, and here you will see two more; one is a winery in Alsace and the other is looking out from the Dali Museum in Figueres. As I travelled through Asia and Europe in recent years, I found myself drawn to photographing gates, doors and various entries; looking in and looking out. This Doors project has two purposes. Firstly as a vehicle to teach me to paint, and secondly to work towards a major piece on a large canvas, or a large series, in oils.
Additionally, though I think its a big challenge when I can’t really draw faces, I was determined to paint portraits of my three daughters. The first took three months, the second three weeks, the third three days. I consider them “works in progress”. I have included images of the oldest and youngest daughter here.
I’m looking forward to immersing myself in my art community, sharing, mentoring and being mentored. How exciting, to start the year off sharing my work with you all.