To help you get to know the Studio Fridays artists better, back in February I asked each of them to share three pieces of their work and answer three questions about their practice. Here is……

Caroline Matthews

1. My favourite work from last year is:

2. The piece I am working on now is:

This pastel painting closes in on the view more than I usually do to home in on the patterns and textures of the Autumn foliage. It’s small (14cmx24cm) but, still takes a long time to do. I’m building up layers of small marks to create the light and atmosphere- it’s all about the mark making.

3. My favourite work ever is:

High Summer 5
Soft Pastel
55x65cm
2025

4. My highlight of 2025 was?

My highlight of 2025 was being selected for Associate Membership of the Society of Graphic Fine Art. Founded in 1919, the Society places drawing at the heart of everything it does, making this recognition especially meaningful to me. Over the past year, I dedicated myself to developing my portfolio, refining my skills across pencil, soft pastel, and pen. I’m excited to become more involved with the Society and especially proud to be exhibiting three works at their annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London in March — my first exhibition as an Associate Member.

5. What subjects are you most interested in?

I return to painting and drawing woodlands again and again. Each visit reveals something new — shifts in colour, light, and texture that give every woodland its own distinct character. I’m fascinated by the interplay of branches, foliage, and light. My work is also rooted (ha, ha) in the sense of calm I experience among trees: whatever weight I arrive with somehow feels lighter while I’m there and yes, I have been known to hug a tree. Alongside my artistic practice, I support the environmental wellbeing of these spaces through my membership of the Woodland Trust and the Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust.

6. Tell us something about the materials you use and your process? 

I work with pencil, soft pastel, and pen, drawn to the sense of immediacy they offer. These mediums allow me to build intricate mark-making that captures texture, light, and atmosphere. With soft pastel, there is no mixing — I’m holding a stick of pure pigment, applying colour directly and instinctively. Moving between the monochrome of pencil and pen and the vibrancy of pastel feels essential to my process; each medium informs and strengthens the others. Over time, I’ve developed my own visual language of marks, exploring how line, pressure, and layering can evoke the textures and shifting light that lie at the heart of my work.