At first glance, her paintings might strike you as surreal or absurdist: a human figure in white trousers and shirt and a red tail coat, with the head of a pelican; a mandrill, seated at a small dining table with an empty drinking glass and an apple; a woman with a giant moth on her head.
And while Gary Larson cartoons are one inspiration for her paintings, Perry Carter is after something else with her work. The Northampton artist says she finds inspiration for her art “in all of Earth’s creatures, whether human, animal, physical, spiritual or something in between.”
Hampshire Life: Talk about the work you’re currently doing. What does it involve, and what are you trying to achieve?
Perry Carter: I’m passionate about animal rights, and I’m also a psychotherapist. So my work aims to convey the inherent dignity and personality of my subject. People are complex, and animals also have inner lives, emotions and personality. During this very materialistic era, we tend to overlook and undervalue the fascinating miracle of the natural world that we are very much a part of. My paintings are my attempt to lure people away from their phones.
H.L.: What do you draw inspiration from? Do you ever have any “Eureka!” moments?
P.C.: I have always had endless ideas, inspired by everything from Gary Larson cartoons to the otherworldly sound of howler monkeys at dawn and the palettes of beaches across the globe. The catch is that very few of my ideas make it into a finished painting. Even though it feels like trying to take a sip from a fire hose, I’m grateful for the steady stream of inspiration.
H.L.: Have you ever had a “mistake” — a project that seemed to be going south — turn into a wonderful discovery instead?
P.C.: I’m a self-taught painter and have only been painting for six to seven years, so I still feel like much of what I do is a happy accident. But there is one painting (you’ll have to guess which) that I didn’t want to show because I didn’t feel great about it. Ironically, it’s one people consistently praise and comment on. This helped me to feel freer to be the painter and let others be the judge.
H.L.: Dream dinner party — who would you invite?
P.C.: My dream dinner guests would be from the future — painters, musicians, shamans and healers. They could convey their innovations and new ways of seeing while reassuring me that yes, in fact, humans did succeed in stopping the corporate plundering of the earth to live in harmony with nature. I would invite the birds and beasts to join the dinner party, too!
H.L.: What do you do when you’re stuck?
P.C.: Going to any major museum to see art in person reliably revitalizes me. I studied interior design, which is also a source of motivation. When I don’t know what to paint, I think about what I would want to look at in my house. Where you might wish to have a window, you can hang a painting that looks like a view!
— Steve Pfarrer
Perry Carter’s website is perrycarter.com.