Today we’d like to introduce you to Charlotte Rollman.
Hi Charlotte, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I retired from 30 years of teaching painting at Northern Illinois University and moved to Tennessee because I wanted to paint outside in every season. It is so beautiful here and inspiration is everywhere. I joined a plein air painting group “Tuesday Painters” and in this group I met John Adkins, my business partner. After Covid we had so many paintings I wanted to open a gallery and that’s how the Adkins Rollman Gallery began in Nov 2022. Personally I choose a partner I felt was as passionate about painting as I was but also with a contrasting style. We are almost opposite in so many good ways!
The time has flown by with the gallery and painting is still my passion. I am very proud of our gallery. Sometimes I feel like I am still teaching and educating our visitors and locals who are expecting traditional arts and crafts and Adkins Rollman Gallery surprises them too. Our love of East Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains is clear and we share that now far and wide. Unlike having a solo exhibition in a city and with the gallery owner’s collectors, we get to meet the people who take our work home and take care of and love our paintings.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Our personal styles have stayed the same but sometimes I see influences between our paintings. I really think that is a natural expected occurrence. Sometimes with artists they seem to love the work of those that are completely opposite….. the thing you wish you could do and don’t. It makes it interesting. This sounds like competition but I have been in those situations from teaching in a big public university where competition is a driving force. This is not that and much healthier and more like teamwork.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I have always done painting and drawing….it is who I am. Because I have had some professional experience in fabric design and textiles in New York and Chicago, I am known as a colorist. Being a colorist had influenced my teaching and now in my mature painting career, I am not afraid of color and sometimes decorative (not so much in a craft sense) but the confidence of my personal style.
Another thing is, that I enjoy painting lots of things and that makes it harder to pin point one subject. I have no idea how it is expressed from the viewers side but I like the idea knowing I can paint anything. It surprises even me and my followers.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Don’t be afraid. I usually let someone else define courage…. especially in art. Having a gallery puts your ideas out in public and not cloistered in a studio. And ironically I find everyone always loves the latest painting I do, just like me.
Pricing:
- pricing ranges from $200.00 to $1000.00
- more by size
- maybe price of framing included
- we ship painting if someone can’t travel with the purchase
Contact Info:
- Website: https://adkinsrollmangallery.com
- Instagram: adkins rollman gallery / charlotterollmanworks
- Facebook: adkins rollman gallery / charlotte rollman
