Meet The Artist
Charles A Felder
Art has always been a way to express what I couldn’t put into words. It helps figure myself out.
I am an oil painter based in Amsterdam, New York, and the creator of CAFscape, my work is built around the idea that art can be a place of mental peace. My paintings are landscapes, with bold color, and simple forms, but beneath that simplicity is something more personal: each painting is a personal journal reflecting pasted to lived experiences and lessons learned.
I often describe painting as a puzzle. Each paintings color, light, shape, and composition gets put together piece by piece until the full picture reveals itself. The image may appear peaceful on the surface, but the meaning behind it is reflective, sometimes difficult, but always honest. Instead of asking myself why am I painting this? I ask myself what is this painting showing me.
My relationship with landscape began long before I ever picked up a brush seriously. I grew up in New York City, where having it rough was a norm. Buildings, noise, and constant movement defined daily life. But one summer, I got a chance to go to summer camp in the woods. The difference was unforgettable.
Instead of traffic and subway trains, there was the sound of rivers running over rocks and crickets filling the night air. Instead of tall buildings blocking the sky and crowds of people, there were endless trees and open space. It was the first time I experienced nature. The first time I felt calm.
Today, many of my paintings capture that same feeling: the quiet space where the mind slows down and reflection begins. The landscapes I paint are not exact locations. They are tranquil places meant to pause the viewer and give the same sense of peace and mental escape that nature gives me.
