Welcome to Carol Hounsell (artists) website

About the artist....

As a child my grandfather had a big influence on me.
He was a wonderful painter and would draw the most wonderful cartoons. His drawings were full of humour. He loved observing people in their daily lives. On my travels with my sketch book, it is good to observe the interaction between people and make quick sketches whether the transport is by bus, car, train or plane. Humour seems to pop its head up in all sorts of places and life is never dull.

Drawing is very important to me also. Fort the last twenty five years, life classes at Sydney Place in Bath have been a part of my life. Life classes are a great discipline and like exercising and practicing scales on the piano each day, they teach you a lot. It is through drawing that one can solve problems in painting, one can explore different avenues, make all sorts of different marks in order to make light and space, structure etc.

Good drawing makes a sound foundation for painting. Learning to let go of bad drawings, ensuring the drawing is not precious is also very important and learning from the bad work.

The drawings of Giacometti, frank Aubach, Pierre Bonnard and Matisse have a big influence on my work, their drawings are so alive. Their marks and lines etc, are so personal to each artist.