Caroline Pinney
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Caroline Pinney is a painter in Austin, originally from Richmond, where she grew up with an artist mother. She started every painting the same way she does now, by staining the paper with coffee before adding ink, watercolor, acrylic, and oil stick. Her subject is groups of people and their relationships, built from conversations, friendships, family, and strangers she has known. Before Austin, she spent years in Nashville working through the materials she wanted to use. Becoming a mother has changed how she sees care and connection.
Q: First of all, tell us a bit about yourself. How did groups of figures end up at the centre of what you paint?
A: I'm a painter based in Austin, originally from Richmond. I paint groups of figures because I'm interested in relationships more than individuals. I'm always thinking about how we exist around others, how we connect, drift apart, support each other, or misunderstand one another. A group of figures gives me more room to explore those dynamics than a single portrait ever could.
Q: Every painting begins with coffee poured onto paper. How did that become your starting ritual?
A: Coffee allows me to start from a place of letting go. The way the coffee blooms and stains the paper gives me a place to respond. That foundation feels much more organic and less daunting than a white surface.
Q: Painting is how you work out your relationships with other people and with yourself. Do the people around you ever end up in the work?
A: Yes, but not necessarily as portraits. The paintings aren't always about specific people as much as they're about relationships I've experienced or observed.
A conversation, a friendship, family dynamics, and strangers all find their way into the work.
Sometimes I interpret various versions of myself. My hope is that the work remains open enough that viewers can replace my experiences with their own.
Q: You've lived and painted in Nashville, Richmond, and now Austin. What did each city give the work?
A: In many ways Richmond gave me my foundation as a painter, having grown up with an artist mother. Nashville is where I painted anything and everything just to advance my understanding of materials I wanted to work with. Austin has given me freedom to experiment more and trust my instincts. I started my career as a full-time artist here. I've also become a mother here, and while my work isn't always directly about motherhood, it's changed how I see relationships, care, and connection.
Q: The figures remain half-explained, and the viewer fills in the rest. What do you hope people find in them?
A: I want people to arrive at whatever meaning they assign to the work. My hope is that the viewer is able to see themselves, a friend, sibling, lover, or stranger. Leaving that space for interpretation allows people to bring their own experiences to the paintings, while also protecting my own relationship to the work.
Q: What's ahead for the rest of the year?
A: As time has begun moving so differently in this phase of my life, I've been thinking a lot about intentionality. Specifically, where I spend my energy, who I spend it with, where I want the work to live, and how I want my practice to grow. I'll be spending the rest of the year in the studio building new work and staying curious about where it can lead. More than anything, I'm excited to see how becoming a mother continues to shape the work over time.
