Charlotte Johnston

As an emerging artist Charlotte paintings are heavily influenced by the drawings she makes of the changing forms and structures in nature, drawing and painting ‘en-pleine nature’ in parkland and gardens. The transition between remote Scottish Highlands and the foreign and dynamic environment of London has been a catalyst for her to make work about new locations and play with figurative elements within her work. Specific places have indescribable qualities and through observational drawing, she has repeatedly navigated through a tangle of forms, to retain the freshness of experience and original sensation, creating multiple possibilities for paintings. 

Growing up in the highlands of Scotland, the northern light feels familiar to her and she is involved currently in a residency at Taychreggan Hotel, Argyll, which is situated on Loch Awe on the West coast. Drawing Loch Awe is both a challenge and a privilege, with its unpredictable weather and unique environment. This experience helps her in portraying and dealing with the parallels between Scotland and more tropical climates, such as her images of La Réunion Island. Previously, subtropical botanical gardens have provided sources for her, using drawing as a form of research to investigate the physical rhythms and structures in nature. The paintings are derived from observational drawings and are a re-ordering of her experiences using a more abstract language of mark making.

Charlotte’s tiger studies are inspired by the film ‘Ming of Harlem: Twenty One Storeys in the air’. A documentary centred around a man who kept a tiger and an alligator in his New York apartment. The film questions the mysteries of animal consciousness which Charlotte explores within both her pieces.