Contact
Email: carolynartwork@gmail.com Instagram: @carolynartwork Phone: 408-768-3584
Bio
As a child, I was drawn to art making and beauty in nature, which became my place of sanctuary and healing and now defines my artistic practice. My art invites individuals to find enchantment and solace in nature’s beauty, inspire inner reflection and healing, and foster commitment to environmental and cultural stewardship. I quickly discovered my love for watercolor landscape painting, and I earned my BA with honors in Studio Art and Illustration from Seattle Pacific University. I now reside in Sunnyvale, CA, where I grew up. My artwork has been profiled in several publications and exhibited in the San Francisco Bay Area.
My studio practice consists of gathering inspiration, forming ideas, and painting. This process involves journeying into nature and sketching small plein air paintings, then returning to my studio to finish or create larger paintings from my sketches and reference photos. My paintings emerge from significant experiences in nature, such as seeing unusual geologic formations and vast mountains views. I then determine which artistic techniques best convey my experience.
Often featuring light, I use Sumi brushes (drawing from my Asian heritage) to achieve light, translucent watercolor washes. I gravitate toward wild, dramatic landscapes and have painted many of our beloved national parks and monuments, which also contain and protect indigenous tribes’ sacred sites and California’s endangered habitats and species.
Education:
2016—Seattle Pacific University, Seattle, WA BA in Studio Art and Illustration, Magna Cum Laude Honors Thesis Faith and the Sublime
Solo exhibitions:
2023—Mountains and Valleys, Peninsula Bible Church, Palo Alto, CA
2022—Advent, Mountain Bible Church, Santa Cruz, CA
2020—Light and Living Water, Peninsula Bible Church, Palo Alto, CA
2018—Spiritual Discoveries, Peninsula Bible Church, Cupertino, CA
Group exhibitions:
2024—San Carlos Art & Wine Fair, San Carlos, CA
2024—Los Altos Rotary Art Show, Los Altos, CA
2024—Los Altos Art & Wine Fair, Los Altos, CA
2024—Yosemite Renaissance 39, Yosemite Gateway Art Center, Oakhurst, CA
2023—Homecoming: The Member Exhibition, Works/San Jose, CA
2023—Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival, Pacific Fine Arts, CA
2023—Fall and Winter Landscapes, Pacific Art League, Palo Alto, CA
2023—San Mateo Fall Festival, California Artists, CA
2022—2022 Juried Art Exhibit, Sunnyvale Public Library, Sunnyvale, CA
2022—Harvest, Ex Nihilo Gallery, Virtual Exhibition
2022—Sunnyvale Public Library Tech Center, Sunnyvale, CA
2022—Out of Nothing, Ex Nihilo Gallery, Virtual Exhibition
2021—47th Annual Art & Wine Festival, Sunnyvale, CA
2020—Suffering–Where Is God in My Pain?, Peninsula Bible Church, Palo Alto, CA
2019—37th Annual Holiday for the Arts Show and Sale, Olive Hyde Art Guild, Fremont, CA
2019—Life Together, Peninsula Bible Church, Palo Alto, CA
2018—36th Annual Holiday for the Arts Show and Sale, Olive Hyde Art Guild, Fremont, CA
2018—Passageways, Twin Pines Art Center, Belmont, CA
2018—20th Annual Postcards From the Edge, Gallery 524, NYC, NY
2017—Radical Disruption, Twin Pines Art Center, Belmont, CA
2016—Intuition, Seattle Pacific University Art Center, Seattle, WA
Awards:
2023—3rd Place (Skygliders over Eiger Mountain), Fall & Winter Landscapes, Pacific Art League
2022—Honorable Mention (Grinnell Lake), 2022 Juried Art Exhibit, Sunnyvale Public Library
2021—1st Place, Gold Section, people’s choice, Sunnyvale Art Club competition
Publications:
2023—The Farmer’s Crop illustration, children’s book by Andrew Abel
2022—”Reflections on Grinnell Lake,” EcoTheo Review, Winter Issue
2017—Carrots and the Contest illustration, children's book by Scott Koppel
2016—Feast Coffee and Culture Zine, Fall 2016, Vol. 1, Issue 2 "Home"
Digital Media:
Angelo Lopez, Interview, @angelolopez2481, February 11, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivcgHr-M5dE
Teaching Experience:
2017-2019 Elementary and Jr. High Fine Arts Teacher, Live Oak Academy, Santa Clara, CA