Carolyn Steward
Randolph Center, Vermont
Artist Carolyn Steward creates impressionistic paintings that combine imagined scenes, expressive brushwork, and a luminous, atmospheric quality. “My paintings are born out of a love for people and life,” says Carolyn. The daughter of a sculptor and a watercolorist, she developed an early understanding of form, perspective, and color before discovering her own passion for painting while serving in the military. After earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Goddard College, she spent twenty years painting impressionist works on location before illness led her to work from imagination, a practice that continues to shape her art today. Carolyn works from her home, where her easel is almost always set up, and paintings in various stages fill the living and dining spaces. Outside the studio, she enjoys quiet country walks with her dog and spending time with her husband of 50 years and their four adult children.
Artist Statement
I see painting as a quiet form of communication. A painting can speak subtly and continually as we live with it, offering a different kind of presence than other art forms. My paintings are born from a love of people and life, exploring the human perspective in relationship to nature and our Creator. I aim to create a sense of peace and tranquility while placing the viewer visually within the scene.
Today, I create imaginative paintings that combine impressionistic brushwork with a luminous, atmospheric quality. My process often begins with a thin wash of paint, sometimes forming an inkblot-like image that I interpret intuitively as the painting develops. I also draw from photographs of my earlier works, allowing past ideas to become starting points for new ones. I work primarily in oil on canvas panels, using archival-quality pigments and brushes to build form, light, and varied surfaces.
My work has evolved through decades of painting. After studying the masters and working extensively from life, I spent twenty years creating impressionist paintings on location. A period of illness eventually led me to work from imagination, and this became an unexpected new direction in my practice. I continue to explore the relationship between sunlight, distance, and darkness, allowing each painting to develop its own atmosphere and meaning.
Today, I create imaginative paintings that combine impressionistic brushwork with a luminous, atmospheric quality. My process often begins with a thin wash of paint, sometimes forming an inkblot-like image that I interpret intuitively as the painting develops. I also draw from photographs of my earlier works, allowing past ideas to become starting points for new ones. I work primarily in oil on canvas panels, using archival-quality pigments and brushes to build form, light, and varied surfaces.
My work has evolved through decades of painting. After studying the masters and working extensively from life, I spent twenty years creating impressionist paintings on location. A period of illness eventually led me to work from imagination, and this became an unexpected new direction in my practice. I continue to explore the relationship between sunlight, distance, and darkness, allowing each painting to develop its own atmosphere and meaning.
Artist Background
Goddard College
Bachelor of Arts, 1980
Bachelor of Fine Arts, 1980
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