Life’s too short for beige

Hey. I’m Caroline.

  • Caroline Parkes at Artweeks 2024

    Choose love

    I love to live life in full colour.

    Life’s too short for beige.

  • A woman in a blue denim shirt painting on a canvas in an art studio.

    Choose creativity

    At work, or at play, I’m driven by creativity. Interior design and fashion inspires me, I work in a creative industry, and my passion is to paint.

  • Two women standing outdoors next to a pine tree, with a historic stone bridge and water in the background. One woman is wearing a leopard print blouse and dark pants, the other is wearing a pink jumpsuit and sunglasses.

    Choose optimism

    I currently have a major exhibition at Blenheim Palace (The Optimists) with my friend and fellow artist MM Plumm.

Painting of a man in a white suit and woman in a red dress celebrating, with the woman holding a bouquet of flowers and both smiling, colorful confetti falling around them.

People

Portraits and figurative paintings are my passion. Sometimes of colourful characters who I know.

Meet them

Abstract painting with vibrant colors including pink, yellow, blue, orange, and green, featuring bold yellow lines and splashes of paint throughout.

Places

Blenheim Palace, in the beautiful town of Woodstock, is on my doorstep, so I don’t need to travel far to be inspired to paint.

Visit my faves

Abstract painting with shades of red, pink, black, and gold, featuring textured brushstrokes and splatters.

Personal

Life has its dark side. Painting has helped me explore my grief. It brings joy, and helps me process.

My grief series

A woman with glasses and long blonde hair wearing a yellow floral dress standing in an art gallery or cafe. The background features a wall decorated with framed artwork and two gold picture lights, a brown tufted leather bench, and a marble-topped table.

The Feathers

Pretty proud of this collaboration! I curated the art in Woodstock’s most chi-chi hotel.

Find me there

Woman with curly blonde hair, wearing a colourful Karavan dress with orange, blue, and red patterns, standing next to an abstract portrait painting of a woman with short hair, holding a cigarette, in an art gallery.

Exhibitions

Find out more about my exhibitions, including how I exhibited to 250k people at Blenheim Palace.

Find out more