Over the years, I have begun developing my own unique technique as my style remains realistic. I work with both acrylic and oil paint to create my wildlife paintings, however, my true focus is on manipulating light within each artwork.
Troupe Flamboyance, oil on linen, 391⁄3 x 51" (100 x 130 cm) Troupe Flamboyance has been my most complicated composition yet, comprising over 20 flamingos in a frozen pose of stretches and movements. I created the flock of birds from several different images, all stitched together to create something that reminded me of a ballet. The clouds that I used in the background are from another image all together, and was chosen for its linear lines to complement the curves and rounded bodies of the birds. This painting was chosen to be part of a museum exhibit in Wisconsin in 2024.
When I work with acrylic, I focus on clarity, detail and efficiency, resulting in realistic paintings that take shape within days. As my process with the medium has become more refined, I am able to produce highly detailed and stunning portraits quickly. My technique with oil paint is quickly becoming a more gestural form of realism as I craft my own method of working with the medium. Typically I will finish an oil painting with two applications of paint in an alla prima process.
Cheetah Portrait, acrylic on panel, 391⁄3 x 29½" (100 x 75 cm) A classic portrait of a cheetah at dawn, catching the first rays of sunlight in acrylic paint. This painting was created as a donation for a cheetah conservation effort in 2023, and completed on stage at the fundraising gala. I created it to celebrate the individual nature and lives of cheetahs, using the light and glow of the golden sunlight on the face to complement the deep purples of shadow in the background.
Pride, oil on linen, 431⁄3 x 41¾” (110 x 106 cm) This painting was created from six separate photos I took in collaboration with Kevin Richardson in 2023. I stitched the composition together after many weeks of draft ideas, bringing them all together through the use of dappled sunlight cast over their bodies as if they were laying under a tree. This painting was created in order to immortalise the iconic lions at the Kevin Richardson Foundation that have brought awareness and so much more to conservation efforts for African wildlife.
Although my subject remains focused on wildlife, I am more passionate about using light and manipulating the references to create something wholly new and more vibrant. Using complementary color combinations, I create dappled sunlight through unseen branches cast over a portrait. Or I will take a flat and lifeless scene with no direct light source and use my knowledge of light to transform it with additional elements, adding light and shadow where there previously was none.
Last Light, oil on linen, 18 x 411⁄3" (46 x 105 cm) From a flat and lifeless reference image, I used oil paint to bring this blissful portrait to life. Again using dappled sunlight, I cast shadow and light over the body of the lion, emphasizing the patterns in the background to create the atmosphere and sense of rest encapsulated in the lion’s expression. The complements of purples, blues and gold tones create a vibrant yet visually pleasing play on light.
It is my hope to not only capture nature as it is, but to also transform it into more than what could ever be captured in a photograph. —
About the Artist
Carla Grace
Born in South Africa, Carla Grace grew up with an innate love of wildlife. Her first experience with paint was at age 14 when she entered her school art competition with a small oil painting of birds in a nest. She won the overall art prize, beating the students in their final years of school and sold her first painting. From then on, Grace has continued to refine her art abilities, selling portrait commissions in pencil during high school, and going on to study fine art at university. After two years of university, she dropped out to move to Australia and pursue a career that she had unconsciously begun at such a young age.
Now living and working in South Australia with her family, Grace works full time as a wildlife artist. There have been several key moments over the past two decades of her career that have shaped and developed her practice. Most recently, she has been a finalist twice in the David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year award. In 2023, her painting Troupe Flamboyance was chosen to be part of a museum of birds exhibit in Wisconsin. In 2024, Grace was flown to South Africa to collaborate with Kevin Richardson on a conservation project, capturing his lions in one of the most unique paintings she’s ever done, viewing them from above. Along with high profile collaborations, she has moved on to establishing new processes with painting techniques and founding her own tutorial platform where she teaches what she has learned along the way. Her tutorial platform can be found at carlagracecreative.com.
Contact at
carla@carlagraceart.com
carlagraceart.com
carlagracecreative.com