“I Don’t Know If I Want to Stay” by Carley Brown, 2025, oil paint on canvas, 14”.
ABOUT THE PIECE
“This piece is part of a larger body of work called ‘I Was Never Just A Body.’ Exploring how we are more than just our physical bodies, we are made up of desires, memories and moments.”
ABOUT THE SERIES
“A few years ago I lost loved ones, forcing me into my first time experiencing grief. It forced me to look at the world differently than I had before and to look at what life means to me. When we are alive, people get so caught up in their day-to-day routine with work and functioning in society that we forget to look outside ourselves and sometimes forget to look at what we truly want.
“This series explores how we are more than just our physical body. We are desires, memories and moments. It is a personal body of work, and all of the scenery in each painting are pictures that I took. I wanted to make sure I was capturing a particular time of day that would draw out a feeling of yearning, of wanting to be in that moment.
“The only picture I didn’t take was from “I Don’t Know If I Want to Stay.’ That is from a picture my late mom took when she was back in high school on a disposable camera. A picture that was a cool shot when she took it, I now associate with something that once was. A lovely, cozy scene, but also so empty at the same time.”
ARTIST BIO
Carley Brown is a painter and illustrator, working both in traditional and digital media. She grew up in rural North Carolina and moved to Little Rock for college, attending the University of Arkansas in Little Rock. After graduating, she began dabbling in art markets and selling her own work. Brown loves to make work that is fun and conceptual, combining her love for 2D graphic art alongside naturalistic subject matter.
Find Brown’s work locally at Concrete Roots and Y’allternative Market, and on Instagram at @carleybrownsart.
Learn more about Brown at littlerocksoiree.com