Scottish Painter Caroline Walker’s New Exhibition

A few years back, painter Caroline Walker noticed a shift in how a friend of hers, an artist, was perceived after becoming a mother. “They weren’t taken seriously all of a sudden,” she reflects. At that time, Walker didn’t have kids and thought that her art would remain separate from her potential life as a parent. “I felt intense enough to be taken seriously as a female artist,” she adds, a smile playing on her lips.

We’re discussing her upcoming exhibition titled “Motherling” at Hepworth Wakefield. Now 43, Walker has cultivated a successful career as a painter, focusing on women’s experiences. She began her education at Glasgow School of Art and later graduated from the Royal College of Art in London in 2009. Her works, often featuring intimate panels and large canvases, explore the lives of various women—from bakers to housekeepers—and, more recently, the constellation of female caregivers involved in childbirth and early childhood care.

Walker began sketching parent-child dynamics when she became a mother in 2019. Before her pregnancy, she had already reached out to University College Hospital in London about a residency, where she decided to focus on the birthing environment. Her “Birth Reflections” series, filled with cobalt blue hues of medical scrubs and gloves, captures a sense of warmth in a sterile setting. The works depict tender moments, like a midwife gently pressing a stethoscope against a newborn’s chest in a tense operating room after a cesarean section. Familiar yet unsettling, these scenes reflect the intensity of motherhood.

“I didn’t think I would mine my kids repeatedly for the subject,” Walker admits, showcasing a slight hesitation about how her journey is perceived. “Some might view it as cliché: ‘Yeah, she had a baby, and now she’s going to make a lot of pictures about it.’ But I’ve tried to expand beyond that. It’s completely understandable that artists address such a life-changing event through their work.”

Walker’s exhibition includes four series, one of which, labeled “Lisa,” depicts the transformation new mothers undergo as they bring their babies home. Following her sister-in-law’s journey through pregnancy, Walker’s paintings reveal “a more subjective view” of motherhood, capturing those quiet yet chaotic moments: lounging in pajamas, breastfeeding at 2 a.m., or dozing on the couch with a baby asleep on her lap.

Over time, her art has shifted to become more autobiographical. Early pieces give glimpses of her daughter, Daphne, peering into their old London home in 2021. Walker chuckles, “I didn’t expect to use my kids so much as subjects.”

Daphne, now five, appears frequently in the exhibition, whether she’s at a swimming lesson or perched at the kitchen table with Walker’s mother. Since moving to a nursery in Scotland in the summer of 2022, the essence of motherhood continues to weave through Walker’s art. She reflects, “I was often looking for perspectives as an outsider,” noting how different it feels to document mothers while now being the one employing care for her child.

Walker’s art often captures understated, invisible chores—things like fluffing pillows or scrubbing sinks—rendered in oil paint on a grand scale usually reserved for historical pieces. For this exhibition, even the tools of modern motherhood are illustrated, emphasizing a messy yet beautiful reality.

“Being home with Daphne was a bit claustrophobic,” she recalls, noting the chaos of new parenthood. Her experiences, though they felt overwhelming, painted a visually rich story worth capturing. “It’s confusion, but it’s also interesting. It tells a specific moment.”

A self-portrait of Walker holding her six-week-old son, Laurie, captures a weary yet tender moment in front of a mirror. “I was so tired; it wasn’t the easiest time,” she shares. Yet, now, looking at that painting brings back memories of cradling tiny bodies and feeling their little hands.

Walker and her family currently reside on a renovated farm near Dunfermline, just a short drive from where she grew up. While her family isn’t artistic, she felt drawn to drawing from an early age, often representing women and their surroundings. She maintains a small studio at home and a larger one for her work. “Living in London is different, but I find it works well for my art,” she says. “My working style has changed; it’s now a bit fragmented, filled with small pieces of inspiration.”

When asked if her mother still serves as her muse after a decade, she considers it carefully. “Those early years are so intense. It’s natural to return to such experiences, but my connection with my kids and how involved I am is always evolving. For now, my work and life seem completely intertwined,” she concludes.

Caroline Walker: Mother is on view at Hepworth Wakefield from May 17th to October 27th, and then at the Parant House Gallery in Chichester from November 22nd to May 10th, 2026. The exhibition will include an illustrated monograph to be published in September.