I came to New York from Philadelphia, originally to work in fashion design. I started my own company, which focused on women’s wear, mostly dresses and separates.

While looking for interesting fabrics, I discovered a technique for painting on silk and as I used it more and more I began to realize that I enjoyed creating the painted fabrics more than the clothing.

I left the fashion world, went to the NY Studio School for a while and then started studying painting and drawing at the Art Students League of New York. After an intensive two years there, drawing and painting 8 hours a day, I set up my own studio and began my personal journey through art.

I started exhibiting my artwork in 1980 and have been included in many shows in various galleries since then. My work is in both corporate and private collections.

Over the years I have done both painting and collage and had been wanting to find a way to bring these two aspects of my work closer together. To this end, I decided to cut and collage the preparatory drawings I had been doing for my paintings. I then started using the new collage drawings as a basis for a new artwork. This is what led me to the relief paintings that I am currently making.




© Carolyn Oberst 2013