Driven by Intuition: Artwork by Char DeRouin
American Rag 1 (detail), 1940s and 50s quilt pieces and house paint on canvas
Northern California-based artist Char DeRouin makes work that is driven by intuition. She layers soft colors and textures and uses a variety of media including papier maché, textile, and painting.
Though Char has distinct gallery in her portfolio through which she displays different art mediums, I enjoy how cohesive her body of work is as a whole. It seems that the artist approaches many different media with a similar intent and conceptual feeling. For example, many of the colors and patterns that appear in Char’s paintings have parallels in the textiles she uses – particularly her handmade journals which are assembled from scraps of fabric.
The front page of Char's art website
I find the artist’s figurative paintings particularly charming as well. They use a childlike, naïve style and yet still display skill in the way the colors and forms are given volume and built up over a background. The artist uses a similar technique for her floral works, with simplified forms for her flowers creating pretty halos of color.
Confetti (detail), acrylic and ink