Join the Bainbridge Public Library for the February 2022 First Friday Art Walk, featuring artist Claudine Carmel

The Bainbridge Public Library is dedicated to spreading the joy of reading and the discovery of ideas with not just our local community, but with visitors from near and afar. In addition, the library is fortunate to house beautiful local works of art both inside and outside the building. Each month the library celebrates a local artist (or artists) with an exhibit, which opens monthly on the Island’s First Friday Art Walk tour, and includes a reception hosted by the featured artist.

The Bainbridge Public Library is proud to present an exhibit by artist Claudine Carmel

 Claudine will host a “meet and greet” from 5pm-7pm on Friday, February 4th to open her new exhibit, “Color and Light” for First Friday Art Walk

Claudine Carmel grew up in the quaint seaside town of Bournemouth on the south coast of England. Spending her childhood on the coast ignited her love of the ocean, and she feels that she’s at her best when living near the water. As she said, “I find it calming, healing and my main source of inspiration for my artwork.” She moved to Bainbridge Island in 2016 with her beloved Boston Terrier, Murphy, and found the tranquil, natural environment the perfect place to inspire her artistic mind.

Using soft and bold hews, Claudine creates landscapes, cityscapes, skyscapes, nautical whimsy and multi-layered resin art that are both dreamlike and realistic. Her expertise in using an abundance of vibrant colors combines the landscapes and the inhabitants of the land and sea with air, water, ocean and sky. Her paintings and resin art are infused with a sense of movement and harmony, creating a feeling of peaceful serenity to those that view her pieces. When viewed at different times of the day and in varying lighting, her pieces come alive and more often than not, new details emerge.

“My traditional acrylic art is about capturing majestic moments in nature, that in real life last only seconds, and preserve them on canvas for a life time. Brush strokes and layers of light within a painting bring across the feeling of movement and can make a work of art seem more life-like than a photograph,” Claudine says. “In my multi-layered resin art, I create fluid backgrounds with an emphasis on visualizing the continuous movement of air currents, swirling waves or galaxies in space. The resin gives each piece a thick glossy surface like the ocean, with sparkles reminiscent of sunlight dancing on water or faraway glittering stars. These originals are one of a kind.”

Using hand-mixed pigments and non-toxic museum-conservation grade epoxy resin, allows Claudine to seal and protect each piece, preserving it for a life-time.

Claudine studied multimedia at Bournemouth and Poole College, and film production at the Arts Institute of Bournemouth, and later, screenwriting at the San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking. Her love of art and storytelling inspired her to pen three illustrated children’s books, two of which were named Best Indie Kids’ Books of 2014 and 2015 by Kirkus Reviews: Lucy Lick-Me-Not and the Day Eaters: A Birthday Story (The fantastic tales of Lucy Lick-Me-Not Book 1), Lucy Lick-Me-Not and the Greedy Gubbins: A Christmas Story (The fantastic tales of Lucy Lick-Me-Not Book 2), and Journey (a ballooning adventure).  She’s currently working on a young adult novel with an inspiring and emotional time-travel component.

Claudine’s exhibit is available for viewing and sale at the Bainbridge Public Library throughout the month of February in the meeting room during regular library hours and on the library website, www.bainbridgepubliclibrary.org.

Her pieces are also available at Millstream on Winslow Way as well as her website, Claudine Carmel, Author, Artist, Illustrator.

As always, thank you for supporting your Bainbridge Public Library and local artists. If you have interest in exhibiting your work, feel free to contact Linda Meier, art coordinator, at lindameier2000@gmail.com

***Library content and images provided by Linda Meier, Bainbridge Public Library and Claudine Carmel