"Wow! What wonderful expressions of the universe. I love it!"
"What the greatest minds have ultimately sought from art is knowledge, a true or 'metaphysical' knowledge, capable of reaching beyond the external appearance of phenomena in order to lead us to their intimate essence"
Michael Henry on Kandinsky
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
"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 ca currently be seen at The Russian River Gallery in Guerneville. She has also exhibited at the Lori Austin Gallery, Healdsburg, CA, Art Gallery H in Tubac, Arizona and the Monserrat Gallery in New York City in addition to numerous shows and art studio tours in Arizona, Washington, and California. She 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.
Carolyn Wayland in Cuba.
"The art and artists there are amazing".