Carly’s desire to explore the nature of being human saw her train in psychotherapy at the Tavistock Institute in London, as well as volunteer for the mental health charity, Mind. As she delved deeper into the world of human experience, her art began to incorporate themes of personal transformation and understanding.

She says: “What unifies is is an inner beauty which we all share, and that’s really at the heart of my work.”

One of her greatest artistic influences is Jackson Pollock, who pioneered the unique technique of drip painting. A similarly abstract style can be seen in Carly’s work, integrated with figurative painting.

All of Carly’s work starts with researching images which she may take from books or online sources or even her own photographs. Beginning with around fifty images, she’ll narrow them down and begin to draw in a sketchbook, creating a series of sketches that evolve over time.

When she is ready to take it to the canvas she paints instinctively, starting with a charcoal outline that is washed over with water. Then, carefully selecting her colours, she will drip acrylic paint down the canvas. She says: “I often find myself in a dialogue with the painting, listening to what’s being asked of me. I know in the first 10 to 20 minutes if I’m creating something with magic in it.”

Detailed shading is created to help the figure pop out the canvas followed by dripping paint and flicking paint at the canvas. Carly will move between the vibrant and energetic adding of paint and detailed work with an intricately small brush to achieve the desired effect.

Near the completion of a painting she paints the white background, lays the painting flat on the floor and start dripping paint onto the figure to break it up further. Once dry, the painting will be stood upright and Carly may still flick more paint across the canvas to add any final shading. She says: “It is quite a process, and there is a lot of chaos within structure.”