Woman of Substance: Carson Overstreet Price.

This month’s impressive woman of substance is Carson Overstreet Price, a self-taught artist who, after dedicating nearly 15 years of her life to non-profit work, began painting in the fall of 2013.  Art enthusiasts in her native Virginia reacted to her stunning work with an overwhelmingly positive response when she first began selling her pieces in the spring of 2014–pieces were being purchased within days of becoming available, and they have since been featured in local galleries, design stores, and private shows.  Known for her uninhibited brush strokes, intense colors, and startling compositions, her current work focuses on nudes on canvas, abstracts, impressionistic florals and landscapes, and palette knife paintings.  (And I want all of them, but especially this one and this one, or this one, which already sold.)

My cousin-in-law (a fellow Richmond, Virginian) pointed me in her direction awhile ago, thinking (correctly!) that I would appreciate her aesthetic, and I was struck not only by the astounding quality of her artwork, many of which remind me of works by great impressionists like Monet and Cezanne, but also by her un-flashy, good-hearted commitment to the non-profit world from which she hails: she donates a portion of her proceeds to select non-profits every year.

Her biography also underscores a pattern I have long marveled over when talking with talented, ambitious, inspiring people: paths to success are rarely linear.  They’re more likely to be squiggly, janky, hanging wild left- hand turns, and turning you out where you least expected it.  Though art was something she always gravitated towards, she really leaned into it after she’d already built a profession in a completely different sector.  What an inspiration.  It takes a lot of courage to make big, bold moves.

And with that: Carson’s responses to my Proust Questionnaire.  (I think you’ll agree, after reading her answer to the first question, that she is a total woman of substance, too.)

P.S.: Want more Carson?  You can follow her and her two adorable children on Instagram here, and buy her artwork here.

Proustian Q+A with Carson Price.

Your favorite qualities in a woman. 

Women who are independent thinkers and who like to read and discuss ideas–in other words, women who are interesting.  But I also look up to strong Southern women who can be gracious and sweet one moment, then surprise you with their strength and independence the next.  Southern women have a great mix of qualities that might be perceived to outsiders as contradictions.

Your favorite heroine. 

Dorothea Brooke from Elliot’s Middlemarch.

Your main fault. 

One fault that I have been aware of since I was young is that I talk too much.

Your greatest strength. 

The confidence to believe I can achieve anything I set out to achieve.

Your idea of happiness. 

Good wine, good food, good company in a beautiful setting.

Your idea of misery. 

Any painful or upsetting situation in which I do not have control.

Currently at the top of your shopping lust list. 

That would have to be Mignonne Gavigan’s Bird Earrings in Hot Pink.

Desert island beauty product. 

Depends on whether I will be rescued from the desert island.  If  there was hope of returning to society, I suppose moisturizing B.B. cream with sunscreen.  If no hope, I’d have to go with Voluminous Feline mascara by L’Oréal.  Thank you for introducing me to this amazing mascara, Natalie Redell!

Last thing you bought. 

Kombucha.

I feel most empowered wearing… 

High heel pumps.

Favorite Magpie post.

The blog post featuring beautiful floral maxi dresses.

Carson-Inspired Shopping Picks.

Some amazing finds inspired by Carson’s answers, and her colorful, painterly style — click images in collage below to be taken directly to product details, or see caption beneath!

Mignonne Gavigan Bird Earrings, $250 // Beauty Counter SPF BB Tinted Moisturizer, $45 // Monse Stripe Heeled Sandals, $890 // Sara Roka Parrot Print Dress, $555 // Peter Pilotto Off-the-Shoulder Embroidered Top, $310 (on sale for 70% off!!) // Cuyana Leather Travel Case, $110 // Comme Des Garcons Stripe Tee, $155 // J. Crew Denim Jacket, $98 // Eliot’s Middlemarch, $12 // Kombucha, $113 for Case // L’Oreal Mascara, $8