Chelsey Frost

Bio:

Born in South Africa and raised in Rhode Island, Chelsey Frost is a painter whose young career has been built on skills developed throughout a lifelong love of drawing and painting, and which has been informed by the many places she has lived and traveled. After a series of elective art courses at university, Chelsey honed in on her particular love of oil painting. She pursued the hobby until 2018, when she began taking on privately commissioned works, specializing primarily in coastal scenery and seascapes. 

In 2021, Chelsey began exploring her own interests in color theory and her own ideas around how the nature of oil paints allow feeling to be conveyed through art. Her current collection uses vibrant color and many layers of paint to evoke that sense of warmth and hope and ease that is specific to a warm summer afternoon in the garden. Her loose, energetic brush strokes blur the lines between the rigid components of life in the garden and the lost track of time so indicative of an enjoyable afternoon. This rings true of all of her work. She takes advantage of her forgiving medium in her quest to convey dream like states, open somewhat to interpretation by the viewer.

As you will see in her work, she draws inspiration from the colors she sees as she moves through the world and from the natural views that move her. 

Chelsey has exhibited locally throughout Rhode Island for the last three years and looks forward to continuing cultivating relationships with the many talented artists around her as she evolves in her career. 

Artist Statement:

My current working collection is entitled “Garden Party.” In its infancy, I was motivated by the desire to create something that would inspire lively conversation, feelings of community, and the sense of abundance. I conjured what I believed felt like the sum total of all the elements of a great meal shared with good company: beautiful tablescapes, lush florals (arrangements or otherwise), and delicious ingredients. What resulted was an explosion of color and organically flowing brush strokes, dotted with edible goodies and gorgeous glassware and ceramics; in a few words: a Garden Party. 

I begin each work with colors that are inspiring me at the moment. I cover the canvas, then I paint the table that I want to be seated at. Sliced melons, grapefruits, pears, and lemons are often scattered about, as they translate as particularly juicy and energizing to me. I then begin to build the garden. It grows through, up, over, around, and under the table, often obscuring any hard edges and providing a soft bed on which the viewers eyes can fall and be carried around the painting. Every time someone views a piece, they should be energized, inspired, and taken on a journey of color and whimsy.