Caroline Oliver has long struggled with being perceived as weak because of her soft-spoken nature. But armed with oil paints and a canvas, the Dallas-based visual artist is stronger than ever in her solo exhibition "Acid Rain."
"I want my paintings to be hopeful and peaceful, but to be aggressive and intense," Oliver said.
The pieces in the exhibit are all abstract oil paintings in which Oliver utilizes drips of paint to imitate falling rain combined with blurs of paint to create sharp, distinct horizontal and vertical lines.
The body of work is influenced by Oliver's own personal struggles over the past year as well as the direction that her Christian faith provides her.
"I don't understand why a lot of things happen, or why things are allowed in your life," she said. "But I see it as Him allowing things to refine me into the person that He wants me to be."
Oliver has been represented by WAAS Gallery practically since the gallery's opening. The gallery, owned by Brandy Michele Adams, is where "Acid Rain" will open with a reception on Saturday.
{"type":"Event","title":"Acid Rain Opening Reception","_id":265083,"html":"
","providerType":"guidelive","providerLink":"http://www.guidelive.com/oembed"}
She said that in her almost four years with WAAS, she has been focusing on her style to emulate the master painters she admires. "The way they paint is so loose, but everything is where it is supposed to be — it is organic — the painting has its own life," she said.
Oliver said that when she is painting, she is working through thoughts and emotions from her personal life, which recently have been negative. But she hopes that her use of color will contrast those feelings and allow her audience to leave with a feeling of hopefulness about their own lives.
"Things happen in your life and you can allow it to kind of break you or, like acid rain hitting the surface of a rock, they can refine you down into the person you are supposed to be," Oliver said.
