April 16, 2001 – A selection of new pastels by Carolyn Caldwell as well as some of her watercolors and Giclee prints will be showcased at a champagne and wine reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, May 4 at Wicker Wood and Shells Gallery in Mongoose Junction.
Caldwell was inspired to start painting after admiring the tropical watercolors of Winslow Homer. A photography major in college, she taught deaf-blind children for several years before going back to school to become an architect and thereby stay more connected to the arts.
Caldwell has studied such luminaries of the art world as part-time St. Thomas resident David Millard, author of The Joy of Watercolor; internationally known artist, Jeanne Dobie, author of Making Color Sing and Thomas Sgouros, head of the Illustration Department at Rhode Island School of Design.
Before moving to a small fishing village in Maine a few years ago, Caldwell had her own gallery, Grasshopper Gallery, in Coral Bay.
Caldwell, who lived on St. John for 16 years, will not be present for the reception, according gallery owner Jim Nelson.
Her architectural background reveals an impeccable sense of form and balance that is imbued with an innate understanding of the quality of light. "Color is a very important aspect of why I paint," Caldwell says. "But my training in architecture has shown me the importance of good structure in a painting."
She breaks the subject down into abstract shapes with a lot of contrast. She has recently been working in pastels, building up textural layers which produce rich color effects. Her pastels and watercolors of Caribbean scenes, both on land and sea, are rich and moving personal statements.
For more information contact Jim Nelson at 776-6909.
