Surrealist painter Charmagne Coe isn’t afraid to lose herself in the moment when she creates artwork. “When I paint, I let my mind go free and I try not to be so tight,” Coe says. “I keep my hands loose, I keep my mind loose, I keep my heart loose.” While she enjoys working on her art while traveling or outdoors, Coe’s most “intense” work is done in her Scottsdale home. It’s here where she creates most of her insightful pen illustrations and watercolor, ink and pastel paintings.
Found in a riverbed during a trip to Camp Verde, a piece of brain coral helps remind Coe of a specific time in her family’s life and that the world we live in is a very old place. “It’s a centering object,” she says.
Coe and her family have set up a music room for jam sessions with her husband and two sons, with a large bass, two guitars and a piano with sheet music. “It’s great to have music in your life, but to make music? That’s even better,” Coe says.
Gifts from Her Kids
About a year ago, her eldest son picked limes off of a tree in their yard, cut them into slices, dried them in the sun and presented them to her as a gift. The rinds reside in a wine glass on Coe’s desk and still give off a faint scent of lime.