Audrey in Winter

Audrey in February

Charles Carter has been painting for the last 17 years in Montery, CA where he resides with his wife Char.
​In his words: "Painting from my perspective is communicating with the viewer and some how making a connection that is lasting.
​It is an idea manifested in a relate-able manner to the viewer."


Background >>
Charles was born in Phoenix Arizona in 1950, art was always a part of his upbringing. He recalls that when he was a small child, he asked his mother to draw a cat and she whipped one out in a matter of a few strokes. His basic dilemma was that he was a talented athlete with a penchant for the arts (both performing and visual). His family did not share his musical acumen so it was never nurtured through a musical instrument. His mother was the artist and made ceramics which were a popular interest during the 50's and 60's when he was at home. 

It was in high school where he excelled in the performing arts, he was tapped as the lead role in Bye Bye Birdie as Conrad Birdie as he could sing a bit and had the gift of the dramatique. He was also on the track team; a quarter-miler and ranked in the state. The powers that be explained to Charles that he could not continue with both art and sports. His replacement was active on Broadway in New York in his post-school career - Stephen Spielberg and Linda Carter were in attendance in his high school and were active in the drama department. Charles was selected to play American football both in college and high school.

He left the visual arts until he entered the US Navy. He began to study the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright while he was stationed in Japan. Wright had both a presence in Japan with his design of the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo and also in Charles' native state of Arizona, where Wright's design studio Taliesin West was established.  Charles began to cut stones with his friend and Japanese artisan, Naokosan, from whom he learned the craft and also explored jewelry design. After he was honorably discharged from the Navy, he was accepted in the College of Architecture at the University of Arizona in Tucson. 
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​While he attended the university, he would frequent coffee houses and local pubs,​ordering a pitcher of beer, he would sketch faces and figures of the attendees and became quite proficient in understanding the human face and anatomy.

Don't Touch

"Monterey is one of the most beautiful locations in the world, this is where I paint."
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He was also enrolled in art - figurative drawing classes and photography. During Charles' college stint he had the opportunity to attend The Universidad de La Salle in Mexico City, which had a very European environment.
He studied architectural design in an all-Spanish class. He achieved the highest award in the design class while competing against native Spanish speakers. ​A strong connection with Mexico and it's people was developed; their art and love of colour influenced his art almost from its inception.  
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He graduated from the University of AZ and moved to Houston, where he met his wife and was soon employed by an architectural firm. During his training, he worked with Pat Lopez - a premier architectural illustrator, who was performing illustration work for the architect firms of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and the World famous Phillip Johnson. This was a formative experience as the discipline of illustration was very exacting and would positively affect his art career in later years.

​Charles and his wife later left Houston and moved to the Monterey Peninsula, in Central California; this is where he began to paint. His first attempts were disastrous, he took a couple of painting lessons which were of no consequence.
He found the solution through a friend: "I then conferred with a dear friend and fabulous artist, Joseph Nordmann who is deceased as of two years ago. He was by far the best plein aire artist on the Monterey Peninsula and I have a collection of thirteen of his works. I asked him if I could observe him painting a work to completion without asking questions or interfering in any manner and he agreed. Joseph's mastery was developed over 45 years. Immediately it sunk in and I was off to my new career."

Charles has been painting as a professional in his studio at home in Monterey, CA. for nearly two decades. "Monterey is one of the most beautiful locations in the world, this is where I paint. My wife and I have also been spending time on the Baja Peninsula in Mexico, between a small Mexican Village, Todos Santos, and the East Coast city of La Paz, Mexico."
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Seated Blond with Red Paisley Wallpaper

Flores Sevilla con Paloma & fruita

Work >>
Charles' work has evolved from its early stages of plein aire or impressionism to abstract expressionism. It is reminiscent of the 1920's post-impressionistic abstract expressionism and his influences include Diego Rivera, Pena, and a touch of Mora, Amadeo Modigliani, and Picasso. "I have stated that my work is Modigliani Lite, as my color palate is not as dark as his work, but utilizing elongation as an expression in my art."

Uniqueness >>
Keeping a positive color palate with an uplifting delivery: Charles' intention to communicate with the viewer through whimsy, uplifting color and a positive message. He also attempts to give his subjects an expressionless countenance.
​His florals and landscapes are of an idealized place in time which exists only in the mind. A certain perfection of an abstract reality that only exists in one's idealized thought. He utilizes glazing techniques that are somewhat antiquated, but deliver a universal expression with a modernist outcome. It is a culmination that is truly American with a bit of Mexico, and Paris in the mix. "I also work with studio paints, as I use a lot of paint it can get expensive but it works for me and maybe causes a bit more effort on my part, but I have perfected a vocabulary. I am a big advocate of frames even though they are painful, they seem to complete a painting as intended, the reason for this is that great artists from the past would often times paint with a frame on their work. My frames are put together by a local framer and he does a very good job."

Investment >>
Most art purchased as an investment has already reached some level of value. Charles does not consider any art from contemporary painters to be investment quality, except for a handful of artists, as time has not yet played out. It is his wish that after he is no longer on earth his work will at least not wind up in some resale shop next to an antiquated dusty lamp of no value unless it is later discovered that it was a painting of major consequence painted by the late master Charles Carter. He says "Art is a good investment for one reason and the value resides in the enjoyment it brings to the owner and the satisfaction that it brings to the artist when he realizes that an individual appreciates his or her work. My dear friend who is an artist musician defined an artist as 'An Egotist with an Inferiority Complex'."

Charles Carter @ The Cypress Inn Doris Day Hotel (Painting: Madame and Coco).

Passion >>
Charles is passionate about living life to the fullest and providing comfort to those in need. He and is wife have volunteered for years to support the Carmel Youth Center (which was started by Bing Crosby) helping local children who need a place to go after school. They also volunteer for various events on the Monterey Peninsula, including Car Week - the largest and most extensive vintage automobile extravaganza in the world. These events provide help to local charities - one in particular that they have worked with for several years is the Kinship Center - a local charity that has grown to national prominence, its main function is to facilitate the adoption of children who are beyond desirable ages and circumstances such as teenagers, and children with special needs.

The couple also donate combs to the less privileged in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and other countries in Latin America. The single-use combs are thrown away by local private clubs, so Charles and his wife Charlaine collect the combs, get them sanitized and sent to various countries through a dental group who perform free treatment for the kids and adults who cannot afford it. "We started this activity and now receive photos of children and adults running our donated combs through their hair. I named the venture Kombs for Kids."

Roxanne Standing

Sunflowers Yellow Orange

Walk in the Parque

"Sometimes art can cross over to statement, but the results are usually not to the benefit of the artist or the quality of their work."

Upcoming Projects>>
Charles is currently working on a Sonoran Desert theme for a client, the very area in Arizona where he grew up, this is an interesting study in the local flora and fauna of the Northern Sonoran Desert. "It is interesting that my wife and I also go to the Southern end of the Sonoran Desert in Mexico in Todos Santos. Southern Baja, is also where I will be exhibiting my art as well. The piece will be my largest painting to date, 36”x 65”."

Backstory >>
He does not paint many consignment pieces, he paints for a local gallery that exhibits his work - "The Carmel Valley Art Association in Carmel Valley is owned by a wonderful couple who are very sensitive toward their artists." Charles also sells work from his studio in Monterey to a list of clients who collect his work. "I keep up with demand and vary themes from florals to landscapes to figures, music themes, automotive themes with an emphasis on inclusive figurative work and my definition of a still life."

​​Location >>
His house is on the Monterey Peninsula, 400 meters from the famed Pebble Beach Golf Course where the 2019 US Open Golf Tournament is being held at the time of writing. Francis McComas a great displaced plein aire painter who moved to the Monterey Peninsula from San Francisco, due to the San Francisco Earth Quake of 1905, stated that Big Sur was the most beautiful meeting of land and water in the world. Charles' work is influenced by the local beauty but also by the great quantity of quality artists who live and paint locally. "I believe that I am influenced by both the environment and as the great painter Monet stated the museum!"

Art >>
Charles feels that art has drifted away from quality to statement.
He says "It is somewhat similar to how comedy for the sake of humor has given way to making a political statement. Artists should paint for quality and improve the environment through their level of art and not through statement. Sometimes art can cross over to statement, but the results are usually not to the benefit of the artist or the quality of their work. I would like my art to be appreciated for what it is, e.g. level of artistic competence, that it be museum quality and convey a message of uplifting of one’s spirit and the ability to convey a sense of whimsy without being slapstick!
​A simple and direct message."

Bull Fighter with Cubist Dove

Table Arrangement

"Art is a good investment for one reason and the value resides in the enjoyment it brings to the owner and the satisfaction that it brings to the artist when he realizes that an individual appreciates his or her work."

Hill Parque

Regina in Mint

​​Shows, Collectors, and Accolades >>

- 2012 Aug?  “Art Business News”, New York - declared one of the Top 50 emerging artists in the world.
- 6 one-man exhibitions in local Carmel Galleries.
- A one-man exhibition and artist demonstration at the Beach and Tennis Club, Pebble Beach, CA in 2013.
- A second one-man exhibition and artist demonstration at the Beach and Tennis Club, Pebble Beach, CA in 2014.
- Finalist in Art Comes alive Cincinnati, OH. A national competition.
- Selected for an email campaign for fundraising at Clint Eastwood’s, Monterey Jazz Festival.
- Personally exhibited his work in 4 galleries in Carmel, CA.
- Juried into the Sausalito CA Art Festival, very few artists internationally are juried into this event. 
- Painting “Dona Marie in Big Texas Hat” was selected by The Junior League, featured as the only two dimensional art work advertisement for the Palo Alto Arts Festival in “Gentry Magazine”.  
- Featured this year in an article in Paul Miller’s, Carmel Pine Cone News Paper, the publication that Clint Eastwood helped make famous.
- Collected by a varied cast of officionados. He is collected by a golf professional who is currently an author of how to in golf and also a national level broadcaster on the golf channel.
- Placements in Japan, Geneva, and Paris. He is collected all over the US. He has placements in Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, California, Nevada, Ohio, Idaho, and Arizona.  - He is collected by doctors, lawyers, business owners and money market managers, and people with an eye for his work. He just sold a work to a fellow artist which is a compliment of the highest order.
- Selected to hang in the late Doris Day’s and Dennis Levette’s Cypress Inn in Down Town Carmel-by-the-Sea.


www.charlescarterartist.com

"I would like my art to be appreciated for what it is, e.g. level of artistic competence, that it be museum quality and convey a message of uplifting of one’s spirit and the ability to convey a sense of whimsy without being slapstick!
A simple and direct message."

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