C. Nansen is a Spanish artist from Cadiz. Driven by her fascination of understanding nature, she embraced science, graduating in both oceanography and geology. Although she never stopped painting, she first combined art and science after attending workshops and Art degree courses in Oslo and Barcelona, resulting in a series of illustrations of sea animals. Currently, she showcases her attraction for the analysis of the present moment using abstract art. Her paintings represent a time-lapsed travel through events that mark life, dealing with the subject of uncertainty. C. Nansen works in Oslo, Norway.
Since when do you paint and what are your favourite motives?
I have never stopped painting. Anything related to art were my favourite activities when I was a child and still my obsession now as an adult. I believe that any hand-craft, brings you to the current moment, opening a space in the “now”. In this space you live all intensively and you are totally connected with yourself and the surrounding. My favourite motives are the ones associated to the overwhelming feeling that nature produces on me and life events that put everything into perspective and make you fully aware of the uncertainty of life.
When you create a new work, how do you proceed? What comes first?
At first comes a sort of general vision, normally from a certain event or circumstance. I then proceed by taking any piece of paper that I find and doing a real basic sketch. I normally associate the colours to the characteristics of the feeling and I have a certain idea on the type of format that I like. I currently work on layers and use acrylic and enamel paint on canvas. I lay down the first layers, and I leave it under observation for several days. The memory of the event then develops with the painting. The final piece could be very different from the starting point, which also is part of my fascination with the uncertainty and the present moment themes.
From what do you get your motivation?
I normally get my motivation from music, nature and books, specifically about psychology and philosophy. I always use music while painting and normally I play the same tracks from the beginning to the end of the same piece.
Your life without art would be...
... incomplete. I believe that there are things in us - for example, intuition - that we may not understand or define, but somehow come out through any creative process. By expressing them through any kind of art, we get to know a bit more of ourselves.
What is the best art place in your city at the moment?
I think that the Kistefos museum is among my favourites. It exhibits modern art, architecture and local history through different installations located within a river valley, in the middle of the outstanding Norwegian nature. I would recommend it!
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