"Wow! What wonderful expressions of the universe. I love it!"

My paintings are about relating to the universe with all its wonders and its enigmas.  For both the viewer and the artist, I envision painting as meditation.

My art is informed by eastern philosophy, specifically Buddhist and Theosophical teachings and a growing understanding of metaphysics.  One can allow the eye to travel throughout the painting, feel a connection to the energy that pervades the universe,  a sense of unity and harmony, a sense of the mystery that we are connected to and part of.  

A painting should have a resonance, vibration or vitality with which the viewer can connect.  My work is a reflection of the energy and beauty that surrounds us every moment, both seen and unseen, that which is within and without.  I want my works to have spirit rather than likeness and enjoy using the gestural brushstroke and certain universal symbols such as the circle  that express wholeness and life’s journey. 

 By connecting to the cosmos we feel a part of something greater.  There is “a sense of the luminous sacred that infuses the world” that draws and inspires me.

 "Fluid color, the swift flow of brushstrokes by Carolyn Wayland provide an immediacy, a sense of present moment that frees and nourishes the viewer.”

                       Virginia Hall Gallery and Studio

A quick gestural brushstroke and a color saturated palette are an integral part of Carolyn Wayland’s paintings.  The rest emerges from deep inside, her life experiences, and the esoteric side of life including Theosophical and Buddhist studies. 

 Carolyn’s inspiration comes directly from her passion for nature and her search for the truth.  As a west coast girl she spent many days in nature, first living in California, then working and living in  southern and central Oregon,  Orcas Island, Washington and back to California where she grew up. Currently, she lives in Guerneville among the majestic coastal redwoods of northern California.

While teaching in Oregon, she developed her knowledge and skills in art, obtaining a Masters degree in Art Education in order to teach high school for 18 years.  “Exposing students to the world of art and to their own creativity was foremost on my mind”, she says.  Before high school art, she taught at a public alternative school where the entire curriculum was based on the arts. In 1994 she was honored with the  “Oregon Art Educator of the Year” award.  

 In 2002 she and her husband moved to Orcas Island, Washington,  where they spent two years building their dream home and a garden and studio for Carolyn. After that creative endeavor she focused her knowledge and love or art into painting.  “Painting there was such a pleasure.  I had the deer and rabbits for company.”   She took oil painting classes on the island and acrylic painting classes off the island every summer.  “I loved being the student for a change, and I enjoyed banding together with a group of artists who were all deeply inspired by the work of Kandinsky, who himself studied Theosophy.  

This view of the world as interconnected and her Buddhist studies have transformed her work more and more to the idea of art as meditation, both for herself and for the viewer. While color and  energetic brushstroke are both integral to her painting, she attempts to convey concepts and meaning through her work. ”Wayland combines her singles stroke of a paint-loaded brush with a chromatic intensity reminiscent of Emile Nolde” says Gallery and Studio Magazine, New York.

Carolyn’s paintings can be seen at The Russian River Gallery in Guerneville and the Lori Austin Gallery, Healdsburg, Santa Rosa and Sebastopol. Also her website, Instagram and on her Facebook page, carolynwaylandstudio.   In addition to the Lori Austin Gallery and Art Gallery H in Tubac, Arizona, she has exhibited at the Monserrat Gallery in New York City, at numerous shows and art studio tours in Arizona and  Washington, and has sold work to various collectors in the west and midwest.  Her works was featured in the fall of 2015 on the cover  and interior of “Quest” Magazine.