Workhouse Artist of the Week: Charla Wilkerson

Charla Wilkerson’s Morose and Her Black Dog reminds some viewers of Pablo Picasso and his Blue Period.  “I love Picasso,” said Wilkerson, when this comparison was made to her. “I wasn’t trying to copy him in this work, but it did come from what I consider my blue period,” she said. In fact, all the works from her blue period are included in her current show. Wilkerson is May’s featured Associate Artist at the Workhouse Arts Center. 

Wilkerson took a few art classes in high school and college, but is mostly untrained. “I like to explore with colored pencils and acrylics on my own, and I enjoy using them to express my views,” she said. Those views are influenced by her Christian faith and a humorous approach to life.

“All my work is a little tongue in cheek,” she said. “I work with a whimsical sense of humor because all of us sometimes have ‘one of those days’,” she said. “My art is something like the person standing in front of the mirror saying, ‘I’m not crazy, you are,’” she said. “You have to laugh.”

“I love color, and use very vivid, bright colors,” she said. “I think very carefully about all of my work.”  “Each work expresses many things to me.” For example, in Morose and Her Black Dog, “Morose looks sad at the moment,” said Wilkerson.  “But she might look back with joy, remembering the comfort given her by her little black dog. It’s a duality of perception,” she said. “We don’t always know what we’re going to think about a situation.”

About two years ago Wilkerson decided to get serious about her art, and went to the Art League in Alexandria for a critique. “It was the first time I unveiled my work in front of strangers, and I received a good response,” she said. “I decided then that I’m an artist and I’m going for it.” Wilkerson then juried in as an Associate Artist to the Workhouse. Associate Artists display at the Workhouse, but don’t have a studio there.

An opening reception for Wilkerson’s show in Gallery W-16 will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, May 14, in conjunction with the Workhouse’s 2nd Saturday Art Walk.