Carol Carter: : Paint

Today we are visiting painter Carol Carter.

Carol moved into this space five years ago. She loved the northern exposure and installed the floor to ceiling windows that surround her entryway. Notice the huge black door on each side? These close to create two distinct spaces.

So when she wants to, Carol can separate her work and gallery spaces.

Carol paints here six days a week.

Right now Carol is finishing up her series on Italy. This show includes more than 80 paintings and will open in February 2011.

These pieces are ready to go. 

Carol collects toys and other things that amuse and inspire her. They hang on one side of her very large, portable easel.

"I think most artists collect something," she said. She also uses this space to hang photographs and memorabilia. 

The space definitely reflects who Carol is as a person and an artist.

This is not Carol's first studio. "For the first 30 years, I had a studio with no sink and no bathroom, and I'm a watercolorist," she said.

When I arrived, Carol was setting up for her next painting. Carol is able to paint in several different natural lights depending on where she positions herself within the studio.

She teaches painting at Maryville University and mentors many new(er) artists. "I tell my students to be grateful to be a working artist. Don't worry about being an art star. I liken it to Julia Roberts - how many Julia Roberts are there? But there are many many working actors who are happy to do what they do."

Carol says a clean studio is like having a camera in a case - unused. "It's hard to create neatly, so you need a space where you can be messy."

 Below, on her paint cart, is a palette covered with more than 15 years of paint.

Here's a palette with only five years of paint!

Earlier this year, Carol was the artist in residence at Everglades National Park. She lived and painted in the park for a month.

She also traveled to the Wildlife Rescue and Response Sanctuary in Venice, Louisiana, where she saw birds being washed and relocated after the Gulf oil spill. She plans to combine these two series in a show in 2011.

Next year will also find Carol teaching painting workshops in Norway, France and the Virgin Islands.

"When my students ask me, 'How do you get to be a great artist?' I tell them, 'Paint everyday,'

"...be ok to paint in the mediocre zone. That's where good habits are formed. It's not what you have or who you study with, it's about sticking with it, and striving to be a really successful local artist."

Carol's website

Carol's blog

Carol's Italy show

(I'll also post a reminder about it here.)

Thank you so much Carol!