My artist statement

Caren Frost Olmsted (°1974, Morristown, NJ, United States) I believe that we are all born creative beings, artists at heart. As a mural artist, I specialize in collaborative projects and installations that engage the inner artist of the communities that my murals serve. My goal is to create opportunities for tactile, emotional, and artistic connections amongst my collaborators with their communities, families, and friends. With each mural I create, I am on the quest to capture people’s heartfelt memories and treasured places and bring those to life in paint. My process relies on extensive research, reading, connections, and communication with my clients to deepen and enhance the work. My murals often bring about happy tears from clients or members of each community, as they feel truly heard and deeply recognized. As the years have gone on, common threads have emerged in my work: the highlighting of local architecture and natural surroundings, the recognition and inclusion of diverse peoples, and their unique experiences, and the illustration of common, everyday experiences and touchstones of the community. The work that I create is lasting, and I love that I get to illustrate the joys of a community, and that these images will live on long after the last brush strokes on the wall, sending positive, uplifting ripples far into the future. I currently live and work in Basking Ridge, NJ. Examples of my work can be found at www.OlmstedMurals.com.