Art Chowder May | June, Issue 21 | Page 25

C arol’s successful series, Shattered Realities, is often said to resemble quilts or stained glass. The works display her colorful palette while playing warm colors against cool colors and lights against darks to form a collage of forms. The square and rectangle shapes patterned throughout the paintings are balanced, but still play tricks on the eyes. That was her last watercolor series. “I haven’t done a watercolor in years,” she smiles. “I added acrylics to my media in 2016 and have been enjoying them. Acrylics have substance. They are forgiving. If you mess up a watercolor, you might as well pitch it in the garbage.” Currently, Carol experiments with mixed media and enjoys testing her pours using rubbing alcohol for special effect or silicone to produce cells (like in the painting Molten). She also combined pouring with a more traditional technique in the painting Keeping Watch, an acrylic painting of a lighthouse and clouds. Carol poured the foam, then used a straw to blow it in the direction of the lighthouse, creating the natural curvature of a wave crashing upon the rocks. May | June 2019 25