Charlotte Robinson is a British model and painter. She has been working as a model since 2018, and for the last 3 years has been studying Fine Art Painting at the University of Brighton. Her work is inspired by the beauty of the natural world and the complexities of her inner world. Landscapes are her tool for exploring the beauty of colour, the sensitivity of materials and feelings that want to be expressed.

1. We love the confidence and love you show for your body. How did you start wanting to turn your body into your modeling job? What has this job given you and how have you felt over the years?

Thank you! I started when I was 20 and it evolved into a very creative and expressive outlet. I had never thought about it being my job until I got scouted and decided to go for it. It was a very exciting surprise. It has opened so many doors for travelling and meeting incredible people, I’m very lucky. Photoshoots take you to all sorts of places. I did a shoot with Jack Davidson in a quarry with a foam machine once, that was amazing! Modelling may seem like the kind of job you only feel confident in because of how you look, but there are lots of elements to it that have built an inner confidence in me.

2. Do you feel art history is a reference in your work? Do you feel reflected in any painting or sculpture?

Classical references of beauty and nature are important for my painting, and I think there are parallels here in modelling too. I started modelling during the rise of curve modelling, and the references on the mooodboards for me were mainly sculptural and Renaissance inspired so modelling and art history went hand in hand, and it felt very exciting and empowering to be emulating this kind of feeling. Celebrating the beauty within softness feels very natural and important to me. In retrospect, I think having these art history associations within curve modelling came with a sense of belonging and acceptance in the fashion world, which was very new to me at the time.

3. We really like your paintings. When did you start to get interested in art?

Thank you so much! Creativity has always been in my life but with painting specifically I started during the Covid 19 lockdown. I remember feeling compelled to paint some flowers and it went well, it planted the seed for a new passion. Three years ago, I started my painting degree to do alongside modelling and it’s been wonderful.

4. What does painting offer you personally?

Painting offers so many important things to my life, I think it’s good for my soul and it expresses my soul. It feels like a direct way to show who I am as a person on the inside and that feels cathartic. Modelling naturally does create a certain attachment to your external self and you end up holding a lot of importance on this, painting can offset this pressure and focus for me. Painting also brings a lot of beauty to my life; it has helped me to connect with the natural world and have more awe towards the world in general. Studying it has challenged me to accept criticism and take on different opinions to mine, and to understand that ultimately when it comes to my art, the most important opinion is my own. I feel like it’s strengthened my relationship with my intuition because you rely on it so much when you’re painting. I would recommend starting a creative journey to anyone.

5. Which artists have inspired you the most to create your paintings?

There are so many I am inspired by it can get quite overwhelming! When I started my degree, I struggled because I felt excited by every style and didn’t know how I wanted to paint, but I’ve settled into my own way now. Milton Avery is a big inspiration to me, his paintings make me feel calm and I love his soft colour pallete. Helen Frankenthaler is another major love; I think she abstracts landscapes perfectly. Cy Twombly for his mark making. The Gee’s Bend Quiltmakers are an amazing source of inspiration for their beautiful quilts but also their story. But the painters I keep coming back to at the moment are Hui Tung Lau and Holly Mills. Also, what I see in nature is my main reference point like patterns on leaves, pebbles on the beach, the horizon across the sea with the setting sun, the hills across South Downs and I how I feel in these places.

6. You are also interested in photography. What has been your relationship with it throughout your life and when did you start taking your own photos?

I am! I think when Instagram became a thing it encouraged me to start expressing myself creatively with photos, along with the Tumblr era and then my grandma gave me her Cannon AE-1 so I dabbled in film photography a little bit. But really it was when I started modelling and saw how exciting photography is as a career and an art. And as a model, being heavily involved in the creation of photos makes you feel very connected to the photography world. You are meeting and befriending photographers all the time and talking to them about their work. Shooting with photographers I admire, and being seen through their lens feels very surreal and exciting.

7. Who are your favourite or reference photographers?

Nan Goldin is my all-time favourite. I also love Robert Mapplethorpe, Wolfgang Tillmans, Justine Kurland, Elaine Constantine, Jim Goldberg’s collages are very beautiful - I’d love to collage with my photos. Artists who combine photography into their performance art like Carolee Schneeman and Ana Mendieta have been important to me. There are photographers in the fashion industry that I would love to shoot with like Julie Greve, Larissa Hofmann and Sam Rock (to name a few!).

--------------- Interview and collage by Pau Lart.

February 8, 2025