Fastidious detail a characteristic of Caroline’s art

ARTIST Caroline Ward’s latest collection of new still life paintings in oil can be seen at Kelly’s Hotel in Rosslare Strand from October 18 to November 5.

This is Ward’s first solo festival exhibition and the fact that it is taking place at the Kelly’s venue is a testament to the meticulousness of her craft. Her previous exhibition as featured artist in Wexford a few years ago was a sell-out.

A regular exhibitor at the annual RHA exhibition in Dublin, Ward is known for her painstaking dedication to still life. producing paintings that astonish the eye.

Fastidious in her attention to detail – a fold in a cloth, the scales of a fish, the tone of a shadow – her hyper-realism encourages close inspection of the subjects that inspire her. Often she can emphasise the sharpness and solidity of the most vulnerable – eggs in a bowl, a shard of light in a tumbler of water – by a unique perception of atmosphere.

Each still life is of a moment, but to succeed it must almost banish from the mind the many, many hours invested in its completion.

‘ The answer for me to the question “why paint still life?” is the same as to why paint at all?”’ she said. ‘It’s all about trying to capture and understand the excitement of the first moment of seeing the image. Painting is meditation that quiets the mind as I make the image come alive. In painting there are no limitations – the only limitation is yourself ’.