I have always been interested in expressions of personal style, and the complex codes of communication that we as humans employ to disclose – or disguise – aspects of our personality, mood, status, ideals and beliefs.
My academic research is concerned with challenging the bland homogeneity and repetitious female stereotypes that permeate popular culture, where women and girls are frequently represented as erotic, sexualized, infantilized, vulnerable, submissive or unhappy, in imagery designed to satisfy the dominant male gaze.
To redress the balance, my portraiture work proposes an alternative vision of women as confident, assertive, uncompromising, in control.
My watercolour portraits depict a diverse range of women with nonconformist approaches to personal style. I believe it is important to celebrate the contribution these individuals make to the broader landscape of contemporary style and culture as an antidote to the familiar, patriarchally prescribed visions of women in the mainstream media and visual arts.
Representations of colour, texture, light and shadow are an important feature of my work and owe as much to the caprices and vagaries of water-based media as to closely observed detail.
The concurrent production of several portraits is an integral part of my creative practice, enabling me to experiment with different techniques towards an improved appreciation and expression of the subject.
Carol Ryder is a watercolour portrait artist, living and working in the UK.
Having enjoyed producing figurative drawings, paintings and illustrations since childhood, Ryder only began to exhibit her artwork in 2021. Her portrait ‘Gold Stripe’ - of performance artist Silvia Ziranek - was produced during the lockdowns imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. ‘Gold Stripe’ was exhibited at the 209th Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London, where it won the Cass Art Prize for Innovative Use of Watercolour.
Since then, Ryder’s work has featured in a number of exhibitions, including the ING Discerning Eye exhibition in 2022 and the Royal Cambrian Academy open exhibitions in 2022 and 2023.
Currently a PhD candidate, Ryder’s work is concerned with representations of women in the media and visual arts. Her colourful watercolour portraits depict women whose confident, assertive demeanour and nonconformist approach to personal style provide an antidote to the bland homogeneity and repetitious female stereotypes that permeate popular culture.
