Images of Eyes Gallery II
Nude Watercolor Paintings by Carol Carter
United States

Carol Carter is an award-winning established painter from St. Louis, Missouri, United States, working primarily in watercolors, one of the most intimate art forms.  Her large-scale watercolors overflow with light, and display vibrant and vivid colors that are not only full of life but inspired by life itself.  Carol says "Having grown up in Florida, my strongest visual impression of an environment for human activity is water.  In much of my work, water provides the setting for anonymous figures.  Watercolors of nudes, as well as black and white nudes are in my portfolio.  The nude swimmer- evocative and sensual watercolor painting is a signature theme."

Carol received her MFA from Washington University, St. Louis.  She received an MAA-NEA Fellowship in Painting and Works on Paper in 1994.  Carol was voted the "Best St. Louis Artist" by the St. Louis "Riverfront Times" in 2000.   In 2002 her work was chosen for the cover of New American Painting magazine and in 2003, the U.S. Embassy sponsored a solo exhibition of her work at the Teatro del Centro de Arte, in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Ms. Carter was a visiting artist in Oslo and Stavanger, Norway, in 1999, 2001, and 2003.  The Schmidt Art Center in Belleville, Illinois held a solo exhibition in 2006.  She was invited to be in the National Watercolor Biennial at Parkland College, Champaign, Illinois in February.  Different Strokes, by Quartro Publishing, in London, England is featuring her work.

Carol's works have been exhibited extensively over the past eighteen years, both regionally and nationally, including seventeen one person exhibitions and numerous invitations and group exhibitions.    

Ms. Carter's work is represented in many public and private art collections, including those of Citicorp, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Arjomani Paper, Leonard Slatkin, Price University, and Utah State University.

Black & white nude watercolor (1995)  Image Copyright © by Carol Carter

Untitled watercolor painting Image Copyright © by Carol Carter

"Black & white nude watercolor (1995)" presents Carter's technique at its most basic—denuded of color, except for a few subtle touches of prussian blue.  The entire painting is a mosaic of washes only—even in the woman's hair there are no brushstrokes or texturing effects.  Everything is built up from carefully interlocking wash fields and the liquid variations of value and pigment inside them.  Carter prefers to work in humid weather, which allows her to extend the time she can coax a wash, stroking the color and charging it with additional water and pigment to produce her trademark wash blossoms.  The remarkable aspect of this technique is its riskiness: the movement of blossoms is very difficult to anticipate or control, yet Carter uses them sculpturally, in the highlights or shadows on figures or objects, where the blossom must contour and shade exactly or the three dimensional illusion will be spoiled.  When they are successful, they add a unique surface energy to the forms; when they fail, an entire work may be ruined.  Carter accents these soft water effects by placing them in a very strong composition: the irregular negative space between the two faces bounded by the man's dark arm, the woman's arm echoing this enclosing effect along the space where their bodies touch.  But at the intimate focus, the two faces, the clarity turns into ambiguity.  The woman has averted face for reasons we do not understand.

--- Review written by Bruce MacEvoy -- link to his website at bottom of page

Untitled watercolor painting by Carol Carter
Image Copyright © by Carol Carter

Untitled watercolor painting by Carol Carter
Image Copyright © by Carol Carter

Untitled watercolor painting by Carol Carter
Image Copyright © by Carol Carter

Watercolor painting entitled "Christina's World" by Carol Carter
Image Copyright © by Carol Carter

Watercolor painting entitled "Google Me" by Carol Carter
Image Copyright © by Carol Carter

Watercolor painting entitled "Naughty Girl" by Carol Carter
Image Copyright © by Carol Carter

Watercolor painting entitled "Juggling the Divide" by Carol Carter
Image Copyright © by Carol Carter

Watercolor painting entitled "It's Not Who You 
Lie With, It's Who You Lie To," by Carol Carter
Image Copyright © by Carol Carter

Watercolor painting entitled "Know Any Good Knock Knock Jokes?" by Carol Carter
Image Copyright © by Carol Carter

Watercolor painting entitled "Everything But the Bullet" by Carol Carter
Image Copyright © by Carol Carter

Watercolor painting entitled "Summer's End" by Carol Carter
Image Copyright © by Carol Carter

Self-portrait of artist Carol Carter entitled "iSelf" 
Watercolor painting Copyright © by Carol Carter

See more watercolor paintings by Carol in Images of Eyes Gallery I.

Carol's works are featured in the recently-published "Different Strokes--Watercolor" book from Quarto Publishing in London.  Several other watercolorists also exhibit their approach to watercolor.  The book is available now at amazon.com and other sources.

Carol's website is http://www.carol-carter.com/ .  You will return to it again and again, as you will find yourself captivated by its dozens of visual delights that cannot be absorbed in a single visit.  Carol's blog is http://watercolorcarol.blogspot.com/.  Send an email to Carol:  carol@carol-carter.com

Bruce MacEvoy is the author of the internet's best and most comprehensive resource for watercolor painters --   http://www.handprint.com/.  

Page updated Apr 24, 2008

< < < Previous artist  --  Next artist > > >

Or select a country from this alpha list
AB     C     DEF     GH     I     JKL     MN     OPQR     ST     U     U.S.     VWXYZ

Home   Gallery I   Gallery II - Nudes   Site Search by Google   Site Map

www.imagesofeyes.com
Images of Eyes Gallery - Fine art, art work, and paintings by international artists