Jenifer Carey

Bio information

Jenifer Carey, born in England, resides and works in Madrid, Spain, as a full-time neuro-physiotherapist.

Concept of work:
Both on and off the canvas, Jenifer is all about movement, the moment and zest for life. Full of bold, Mediterranean colours, her expressionist works
con...

Bio information

Jenifer Carey, born in England, resides and works in Madrid, Spain, as a full-time neuro-physiotherapist.

Concept of work:
Both on and off the canvas, Jenifer is all about movement, the moment and zest for life. Full of bold, Mediterranean colours, her expressionist works
convey the vibrancy of an instant reaching out to be shared by the viewer. They are accessible yet not facile, arresting yet pleasing.

Art:
My godfather gave me a box of oil paints at the age of 14. All pupils at Queen Anne’s School had to do a project, and I decided to do an oil painting. Out of 360 girls, I was given 1st Prize. I went on to achieve the top mark in both ‘O’ and ‘A’ Level Art, but I wasn’t a Da Vinci or a Michel Angelo, and I thought that I would never make a living being an artist.
As I am very independent, this consideration was important to me, so I went against the wishes of my father – who would have liked me to study Beaux Arts –and trained in physiotherapy.
However, I have always carried on doing creative work in my spare time as I have a great need to express myself through my work.
The four grants I received to work at the Frans Masereel Centrum, Belgium, were a ‘hinge’ in my artistic development because they stimulated me to dedicate more time to my art, and gave me the chance to develop in a focussed, supportive environment. And of course, the prizes that I have won have also been a catalyst.

Physiotherapy:
Being a physio helped me achieve a desire to give something to society rather than just receive, as I have a strong social conscience and was born into a privileged family. Physiotherapy also made me realise that tomorrow is not promised to anyone – hence my appreciation of life, and the desire and urgency to live each day to the full. In my artwork, that translates into capturing the instant and conveying vibrancy.

Inspiration:-
The more we learn about anything in life, the more we appreciate it. My love of jazz was given to me by a jazz enthusiastic patient who suffered from aphasia, due to a cerebral thrombosis, so his way of communicating with me was by giving me CDs of jazz which he created himself. As faces, hands and corporal movements are expressive it gave me a subject matter to enhance my work as an artist.
I derive inspiration from personal observation; experiences, knowledge of the history of art and imagination, drawing on music especially jazz, literature as in ‘The Piano Tuner’ by Daniel Mason, and travel, especially to Ibiza and Morocco where the light is magical.

Personal:
I’m constantly on the move, a real quick mover! Every day consists of juggling art, physio, family/friends, and sport - I zip out to the mountains close to Madrid to ski whenever I can, or grab an hour at lunch to play tennis or some golf.

Conclusion:
I’d like my art to cheer people, to convey optimism and help them move forward, as I do literally via physiotherapy. I love to share my joy in life and my can-do attitude – which I’ve always needed for encouraging patients – is very present in my art.

Personal motto? “Grab the moment!” There aren’t enough hours in the day – each morning I wake up excited about all the things I want to achieve, but wondering how on earth I’m going to get it all done!”