Creators in Focus: The Interconnectedness of Art & Nature with Caro Arevalo

Our new Magazine series, Creators in Focus, turns to creative minds from diverse disciplines whose work carries the spirit of analogue: tactile in process, rhythmic in pace, and shaped by time.

Painting from a place of curiosity about her roots and surroundings, Peruvian artist Caro Arevalo's art intertwines flora, fauna, and funga elements into carefully crafted mandalas, serving as a doorway for her to explore cultural histories, the natural world, and our connections to it. We had the opportunity to discuss art, balance, and intentionality with Caro, and in this in this interview, she reflects on these themes alongside her blooming reconnection to analogue photography.

Caro, could you start by telling us a little about yourself? How did your journey as an artist begin?

Hi! I am a Peruvian painter based in Woodstock, New York USA. My art is a mandalic doorway through which I explore the flora and funga, both a botanical aspect as well as sharing the folklore stories around them - their cosmogonies, relationships, and energetics. I always thank my sister for igniting the creative in me from a very young age (she is an artist, too!), as we would always draw and paint together as kids.

What themes do you explore in your work, and how has your view of art evolved since you began painting?

The art I have been creating and exploring this last decade and a half is a result of constantly learning about nature from a scientific perspective as well as learning from different indigenous nations and their connections with the natural world. I started painting very personal and abstract mandalas, which for me, was a doorway to my inner worlds, my feelings.

Without even trying, while I started growing fonder of getting to know the natural world around me, plants and fungi started appearing in my paintings as well. I usually start a new painting with a theme in mind; the evolution or taxonomic organization of a kingdom, flora from a specific part of the world, the symbiotic relationships between different species, and more. I also do research by delving into different myths, rituals or medicinal properties related to these beings from the natural world.

Your Fungi Painting, a project that took more than two years to complete, stands out in your body of work. What sparked your curiosity to take on this journey of painting the hidden kingdom and how did the creative process unfold?

After working on my painting The Evolution of Plants, I noticed how much I had learned from the research that painting entailed. I also realized that I knew very little about mushrooms and fungi in general, so out of curiosity I decided to work on a painting about the evolution of fungi. From there, I realized that we don’t really know a lot about how fungi evolved, and that sparked my interest in learning more about this kingdom that seemed mysterious and unknown.

Along the way, the painting changed from being a piece about the evolution of fungi, into one about their taxonomic divisions of them. My hypothesis was correct; the information available about the fungi kingdom was definitely smaller in comparison to the flora, and thus was the imagery available of them. In order to make a painting portraying the different types of fungi, I needed to look with more precision. I interviewed mycologists, read dozens of books on the fungi kingdom and attended, listened and watched experts of the field speak about specific families of fungi.

The most challenging part was finding images of the microscopic aquatic fungi; the chytridiomycota division. The most rewarding part of it all was realizing how willing scientists, historians and other artists who love fungi were to collaborate with me! This became crucial for how easy it is for me now, to reach out to others in order to get the necessary information for my paintings. This process was fascinating, long, and overall extremely rewarding.

What does a typical day look like for you as a full-time artist, and how do you navigate balance and avoid burnout?

My routine varies a lot! Besides painting in my studio, I make videos sharing my life as a full-time bio-artist, I teach bi-weekly watercolor classes at a local farm, run a Patreon and share plant meditations and other in-person art workshops. I honestly believe doing so many different things helps me keep excited for each one of them, as I don’t get to do everything everyday, that builds up the excitement for when it is time to paint, after a week of running other things as an artist.

Burnout and slow-living are very big topics in my life, and on my YouTube channel. I believe I am an overachiever in recovery, and living a slower, intentional life is the antidote to the perfectionist and overachiever in me. I avoid burnout by making time in nature non-negotiable. My morning routine is a must, and even though its length varies daily, I adjust my timing accordingly in order to be able to show up to daily movement, meditation, and time outdoors.

I live in the Hudson Valley, surrounded by pine trees, waterfalls, russula mushrooms and deer. Being so close to the natural rhythms of nature is a big inspiration to tune back into my own natural rhythms, and remember why life is magical, and worth living.

Beyond your painting practice, what other projects or pursuits keep your life full?

I am extremely passionate about the different ways to connect to the natural world, whether that looks like plant meditations, ceremonies, learning to work with herbs, plant dyeing, gardening, or foraging. I love storytelling through video and film photography. These tools are some of my favorite ways to explore the world around me, and share it with others, besides my paintings.

My family comes from the jungles in Peru and I am very passionate about learning from indigenous nations and uplifting the protection of the Amazon basin, and advancing the rights of indigenous peoples in the Amazon. I love to share a mix of art and mindfulness workshops so others can connect to the magic of intentional painting as a doorway to connect deeper to the natural world.

In another interview you’v also spoken about makin your own watercolors. How do you approach this process, and how does it differ from working with manufactured ones?

Yes! For the past 5 years I have been on a journey to make my art practice more sustainable by only using nature-made materials and art supplies. This led me to learn how to make my own watercolors these past three years. My first class was with painter Stella Maria Baer in New Mexico and ever since, I have been exploring the art of making earth pigment watercolors, from rock and dirt.

Making watercolors and working with the land are, for me, a never-ending teaching. I have been deepening my understanding by practicing, as well as reading more books on the topic. The connection to the land and what is painted go deeper this way. I believe in approaching our creativity as we approach life: in a way that feels reciprocal to the natural world.

So far, my handmade watercolors are still sandy in comparison to the buttery texture of manufactured watercolor paintings. Still, the watercolors I buy are all made from earth pigments, without any synthetics. I am excited to keep exploring this, and one day also learn how to make watercolors from mushrooms.

Your art being grounded in mindfulness, our personal roots and knowledge of nature and environment stands in a little bit in contrast with a fast-paced society, where currently there’s a lot of contention around topics such as artificially-generated art. How do you remain present and connected to your practice, and what’s your stance when it comes to the topic of artistic integrity?

In a world where AI makes instant art, I will always choose to create slow paintings, which take me months and sometimes years to make. I choose to focus on the details, take my time doing research and enjoy the soft process of creativity. In a world designed to prevent us from thinking clearly, being present and moving slowly, I honestly believe we resist this being the norm by falling in love deeper with the process of slowness, presence, reciprocity and intentionality.

I believe integrity as an artist, stands in always creating what boils from within and flows through our hands and not what the spectator wants, or what will sell. We all have a story to tell, a story that may be clear to us or unknown, but there is something that our hands can’t wait to create, that is the beauty we all have to share with the world, and our job is to find the ways to create something with it.

I believe creative ideas are waiting to be born, and each artist is chosen by the idea, the more we show up to the mystery of creativity, to listen, the more we can tap into that infinite well of beauty.

Of all your work, do you have one that you’d call your “favorite”, or one that stands as the most meaningful piece for you?

I love The Evolution of Plants as it was the painting that made me bridge my abstract mandalas into using my art as a way to give a platform to the stories of nature. This painting felt like a breaking point for me. I also love The Pollinator Dance as fauna appeared as a main character in my art for the very first time! I love how this painting isn’t about just one kingdom but rather it tells the story of pollinator animals and their symbiotic relationships with flora and funga.

How do you think being an artist has impacted your life?

In so many ways. For years I was doing art part-time while having jobs in the hospitality industry. Knowing that I had the dream of being able to, someday, do art full-time and pay bills with my art, meant I had to get out of my comfort zone and go beyond my limits. I had to learn how to truly trust in my work, to work endless hours, organize myself, get better at my craft and try with everything I had to make this dream happen.

Art keeps pushing me to get out of my comfort zone daily, as an introvert who thrives by working alone and in silence, learning the beauty of community and the impact that sharing both in person and online have, are constant sources of inspiration and endless lessons to me. I am also constantly coming back to the importance of making space and showing up to let go of my human dramas and fears in order to become a vessel, come back to trust and hear the messages from the natural world.

You studied photography and have recently returned to shooting film, including with Lomography cameras. What drew you back to analogue, and what have you been photographing lately?

Yes! I moved to NYC 12 years ago to study photography, along the way I fell in love deeper with painting and chose to do painting as my main medium. But photography and filmmaking have always been lovers of mine.

I stopped shooting film for a few years and a couple years ago I finally got back into it! Both as a way to come back to a loved medium outside of painting, to connect with other languages and ways of creating, and also as a way to be further from the screens and closer to the intentional, slow living I mentioned earlier. I love to shoot in nature, I am currently working on a series called dialogues with nature, in which I am seeing nature as the artist, hopefully more on that soon!

Are there upcoming projects or exhibitions you’d like to share with our readers? Where can we stay updated and follow your work?

Every other week I upload a new video to my Youtube channel sharing about my current art projects and life as a full-time artist! I also have an online course called Rituals Around Creativity. I teach online workshops and I am currently taking a break from in-person gatherings until 2026.

I also have a Patreon with hundreds of exclusive videos and tutorials, and we also meet online three times a month to explore all things creativity and connection to nature. Lastly, I always upload any upcoming projects via Instagram and my newsletter. Thank you for this interview!

Analogue endures through material processes, lived rhythms, and practices that ask us to slow down. Creators in Focus follows these sensibilities beyond photography, through voices like Caro’s that keep analogue alive across disciplines.

We'd like to thank Caro for opening her practice to us! To keep in touch with Caro and her projects, visit her website.

written by sylvann on 2025-10-26 #culture #people #videos #nature #peru #environment #watercolor #artist-feature #caro-arevalo #creators-in-focus Share Article