About the Artist:  

Carolyn Wolf-Russell is a self-taught artist who grew up in a small midwestern town.  She learned to love art by coloring at the coffee table with her big brother.  She continued to learn by observation and practice, reading anything she could get her hands on, and by meeting other artists.  She has taken  workshops with Terry Issacs, Susan Labouri, Gamani Ratnavira, and Rich Sturgulz.

Carolyn's creativity refuses to be confined to any single medium for profession.  She has done airbrushing, murals, clothing art, jewelry, even custom designs on motorcycles and trailers.  "In my world, restricting art is not only a contradiction of terms, but also counter productive!

Every time I learn something new, I get better at what I already know."

Carolyn and her husband Lee settled in Vista CA in 2000 and finally began to search for venues to exhibit and market her art.  She started with public auctions at the Krikorian Theater, one of the first venues created by the newly formed Vista Art Foundation.

While exhibiting art at the gallery in Vista, Carolyn was invited to enter the jury process for one of the largest Wildlife shows on the West Coast.  It was her first professional indoor show and she has been hooked ever since.  She won First Place Best of Show honors her second year exhibiting at the California Wildlife Open and her recognition as a respected Wildlife Artist has continued to grow.

Lately the organics and sculptural quality of gourds have caught her attention with their unique ability to accept any medium or artistic process her imagination and experience can come up with.  Her enthusiasm and talent have rewarded her with competition ribbons in this area as well.

"I've always loved animals, and painting them gives me the opportunity to study them more closely.  I try to choose moments in their life where they are in the balance between their visible great strengths, and their underestimated vulnerability.  Perhaps my art will help people recognize the fragile balance civilization holds with nature."

Carolyn utilizes every tool that is available to her to reference and research the animals she paints.  Sometimes it is trips to the mountains or seashore.  Sometimes it is stories or lessons that her mentors have shared with her that inspire her most.  One thing she always strives to do is make that emotional connection between you and the 'beast'.  "If I can get you to wonder what it is thinking, maybe you will relate to what it is feeling."

Carolyn is a member of the San Diego Visual Artists Guild, the Kern River Valley Artist Association, the California Gourd Society, the National Museum for Women in the Arts, is one of the founding members of the Vista Art Foundation and was the Director of the Vista Village Art Gallery for over two years.  She has work in private collections in Chile South America, Umbria Italy, California, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Her work can be viewed publicly at the Vista Library, Ciao Italian Restaurant, Gallery 204, and Art 'n Frame, all in Vista CA.  She has also shown at the San Diego Museum of Natural History, the Krikorian Theater in Vista, and a one woman show in Rancho Buena Vista Adobe Museum.  She has done many juried art fairs and events throughout Southern California too numerous too mention.