Carla Raadsveld was born in Rotterdam, Holland, in 1950. She studied at the Rotterdam Academy of Fine Arts, the Willem de Kooning Academy, and later at the Michaelis School of Fine Art in Cape Town from 1972 to 1974. She recieved several scholarships that let her travel to Italy and South Africa. In 2001, she moved to Ireland, where she still lives and works today.
Her style is expressive, colorful, and often playful. She finds inspiration in Africa, everyday life, and even “failed selfies” combined with birds and cats. She also does a series called “Feel Good” and “Tickled Pink” where silly cats and chickens take center stage. Her work has been exhibited in Germany, America, England, and Belgium.
She has a very uniqe technique. She prepares her canvases with a black “skin” or black layer. She doesn’t paint the contours, she leaves them as the unpainted black background. Then she builds up the light areas layer by layer, working from black to light. It’s a time-consuming process, but it gives her work a special texture and richness. Lately, she’s been experimenting with just black, warm white, and cold white, finding the limitation exciting.
“The physical painting is very important to me, technique, composition, the ‘layers’ and of course the smile.”
That quote from the artist pretty much sums up her whole approach. She cares about the craft, the structure, and she always wants to leave you with a smile. Her subjects are often women, and she captures a natural, inner beauty in them. She says her work has nothing to do with fashion or trends. Shes definitely not one to chase things.
In the 1980s, she started a publishing and printing company and exhibited at big international trade fairs like Art Expo New York and the Frankfurt Book Fair. She’s been a professional painter for decades, and her work is held in collections and has been sold at auction. She’s not the loudest artist out there, but her colorful, narrative paintings have a way of sticking with you.
Q: What kind of subjects does Carla Raadsveld paint?
A: She paints a bit of everything. Women, African themes, cats, chickens, and abstract compositions. She’s also done series like “Feel Good” and “Tickled Pink”. Her work is colorful, narrative, and often playful.
Q: Where does Carla Raadsveld live now?
A: She was born in Rotterdam, but she has lived in South West Cork, Ireland, since 2001. She still visits the Netherlands and Belgium regularly.