Step into the studio of Charlotte NC artist Charlotte Foust while she’s at work and you’ll be pressed to tiptoe around open paint tubes and scattered paintbrushes. Multiple canvases line the wall and rest atop easels in various states of completion.
Charlotte Foust is an abstract painter. Her process is intuitive and spontaneous, just like her studio space. Her work begins with a drawing tool—a pencil, charcoal, or marker. She uses it to create the framework of a piece, meandering lines that blossom into pops of color. She works on multiple canvases simultaneously, trusting in her creative process to take the work where it needs to go.
Art has been a constant for Foust since her childhood, which she spent in Charlotte. She earned her Bachelor’s in Art from UNCC and then immediately launched her artistic career, working from a small gallery/studio space in NoDa for years.
Since then, Foust has exhibited her work across the nation, from New Mexico to New York. Her paintings are in collections at Iberia Bank, Duke Energy, and Publications International. She has received grants from the Arts and Science Council and residencies at the McColl Center.
Inspiration and Persistence
The driver of all this success is of course Foust’s artistic inspiration, which she draws from the Abstract Expressionist painters of the 1950s. “If I ever get lost in a painting and can’t figure out the next step, I usually pull out the old art books. Diebenkon, Mitchell, De Kooning—they always inspire me to pick up that brush and keep on painting.”
Foust has that gift peculiar to artists of being able to find inspiration anywhere – in fellow artists, in life, in sensory experiences, and in nature. “When you are creating art from an internal space, everything inspires you. I filter daily life and find inspiration everywhere,” says Charlotte Foust.
It’s not enough to just be inspired, though. Foust stresses the importance of showing up everyday, as well as remaining open to new ideas. “Abstract Expressionism always seems so full of life and I love that tangible feel of action and gesture,” says Foust. It’s the kind of thing that can’t flourish in stagnation, so Foust stays on the move, ever-broadening her internal landscapes and artistic techniques.
“I don’t think I will ever stop creating art; it’s such a joy in my life and a part of who I am. So, I will always, as long as I’m able, be painting.”
Visit Charlotte NC artist Charlotte Foust website here:
