As well as exhibiting her own original work at The Other Art Fair in July 2021, Carrie collaborated with Tracey Neuls to customise a pair of the designer’s shoes. Tracey Neuls is Canadian fashion designer, founding the label Tracey Neuls in 2000. Tracey designs foot-ware by drawing attention simplicity through her use of shape and muted tonal colours, striving for simplicity whilst creating a shoe with a confident silhouettes allowing the wearer to boast their individuality.

This collaboration was a no brainer for us, both Carrie and Tracey work with shape and a perfected simplicity at the forefront of their work.

We asked Carrie a few questions about her practice and how she fared painting on a very different canvas…

How would you describe your art in a sentence? 

My art is gestural with broad brush strokes from a rich, deep palette.

Like Tracey, you get your inspiration from your surroundings. How does this translate into your paintings?

I can be inspired by the way light falls on the ground or by how I feel when immersed in the sounds and scents of a place. I don’t paint en plein air but I translate what I’ve seen and felt in the studio. I don’t often know what is going to happen when I start a painting; I prefer to allow things to unfold organically in a process of layers.

You have quite a distinctive colour palette and seem to work in sequence as if one painting naturally leads on to the next. Tell us more about that…

That’s so true. Once I have a palette I’m happy with I will often do a series utilising it. Then, to my surprise, paintings will almost fit together like puzzle pieces; this happens subconsciously and always surprises me. There can literally be marks leading from one painting to another.

What was the biggest challenge of hand-painting the MAGRITTE? What did you want to evoke?

I was a little nervous because when I opened the box, the boots took my breath away; they are so beautifully made and I was worried about putting paint onto something so perfect. I had had a couple of practice sessions with shoes from a charity shop but their surface was much smoother. I was concerned the paint would be soaked straight into the leather but I was delighted to find the surface utterly delicious to paint on. I wanted to try to recreate one of my paintings, well the marks and palette anyway, on to a shoe and I’m so pleased and excited about the result.

What’s your first memory of a shoe?

The first thing I thought when I read this question wasn’t about a specific shoe but the sensation of the joy of throwing off my school shoes and socks to spend the summer in flip flops and sandals. However, at the end of a long hot summer, I absolutely loved putting on my new, hard school shoes with their heavenly leather aroma; there was something about the formality of them that felt so good after a feral summer!