“Painting is my passion. The mystery and excitement of creating never fails to amaze me. The possibilities are endless.” Carrie Clayden is an abstract floral artist from California and her painting style is semi abstract in nature and dreamy and ethereal in feeling. She discovered that dry brushing and the use of light was the key to her goal of creating a wistful, delicate atmosphere on her canvas. The abstraction of her work imply stories that are untold, as the luminous images vibrate with life and energy. The foreground and background negotiate and dance to an exquisite never-ending narrative. “I could paint on one canvas forever, but I force myself to do several at once. Old things fascinate me, the stories they could tell. I want to capture that essence with my own hands. Painting with abandon is my mission.” A celebration of the advent of spring; the confidence of femininity and the fountain of rebirth, Carrie’s paintings exhibit a richness and depth as though each piece had been created over a lifetime. “Layers are everything. The time, the history and the stories that come from building layers all make for a more evocative painting”. Claude Monet has always been Carrie’s favourite artist and impressionism her favourite artist movement. The influence of the style is clearly evident and was accentuated once she began to ‘paint’ with her fingers; “Using my fingers to paint flowers was a game changer for me, it brought me such joy to dip my hands in colour and literally put myself into the painting… it is like dancing the finger marks onto canvas like a waltz”.