Carol Mead

Artist's Statement/Background

I paint in watercolor, just for the joy of it, but my painting and my subject matter are a reflection of the interests of my life. A native Californian from the Monterey Bay area, I have lived, worked, and raised a family here, since graduating from U.C. Berkeley with a major in Sculpture, where I studied with Jacques Schnier and Richard O’Hanlon. My professional career has been in medical research, including technical and medical illustrating, which has given me a great appreciation for the beauty of organization and design in the natural world.

Art training, in various media (oil, pastel, life-drawing, etching), has been at community classes and art clubs. As I concentrated on watercolor, I studied with many inspirational artists at Mendocino Art Center, Jade Fon’s Asilomar Workshops, and in many individual workshops in the United States and abroad.  China, Italy, France, Mexico, Belize, the South Pacific and South America have been among my painting destinations, where I find painting on site a perfect way to travel and experience a country or culture. However, the Northern California coast is still a favorite subject.

I try in my paintings to balance intellectual knowledge with the emotional and aesthetic response to my subject, and I love the clear luminescent quality of the watercolor paint itself.

My paintings have been exhibited locally in many group and one-woman shows, and with the Pacific Art League of Palo Alto, Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society, Silicon Valley Open Studios, Los Altos Art Club, and “Watercolor California,” a group of 12 artists from the San Francisco Bay Area.

Contact Information

Ponte Vecchio
Watercolor

Tour de California
Watercolor

Pleasure Point
Watercolor

Calistoga Vineyard
Watercolor