Carole Speaks in Washington D.C. at Our Nation's Capitol

Recently I had the pleasure of speaking in Washington D. C., at the reception of the 

2013 Congressional Art competition.  I was beyond honored to have been invited back several months ago, and it was ironic that the date to speak was on my birthday. It seemed like the opportunity of a lifetime and that it was perfectly made for me, so I said yes. It isn't everyday an artist gets to speak in the main auditorium of our nation's Capitol. And to be able to inspire young artists who have been awarded the opportunity to show their work in the Cannon Tunnel of our Capitol building was beyond my wildest dreams. I love to speak to inspire! Lord knows, I need His help, and He sure delivered. The talk went really well, and I couldn't feel more happy with how it went. I'm grateful to the Congressional Institute, President Mark Strand and Tim Lang for their hospitality and to Congressman Robert Aderholt's office and Nicole Petroff for their part in putting on the competition and inviting me.

Soon a YouTube presentation of my talk will be posted, and I'll share it when it's ready...

During my talk.

Sharing my paintings through a slideshow presentation.  Sharing the core of my creativity, my faith.

Painting live and taking questions as I paint. It was great they projected it on the big screen so they could watch closely.  I painted our rocket here representing our Rocket City of Huntsville!

They asked great questions about pursuing a career in art.

Touring the Capitol and watching the House of Representatives at work with 

Congressman Robert Aderholt of Alabama

Aderholt's office

My daughters with me

Nicole Petroff, my beautiful hostess from Congressman Aderholt's office

Successful Show at the Little Green Store!

Bonnie, Myself, Ana (the owner) and Gaynor

Last month I had the honor of showing some of my past house portraits of Huntsville, Alabama homes that I have painted over the years.  After gathering them from my sweet clients, we had a showing of them all together--what a treat that was for me to see some of my work that I never got to live with any longer than painting them and handing them over to my happy clients. And the odd thing is, that they made a great show for others to see because most people rarely see my house portraits.  It was a wonderful evening--despite 2 tornadoes making their way through Huntsville, the gallery was packed! And it was the most successful show for both us! 

Five lucky people commissioned me to paint their homes that evening for 20% off my normal price! It was fun to offer that.  I love painting homes--architecture fascinates me.  And homes don't have to be total works of architectural art--they just have to loved. I paint them to show the love and happiness that abounds inside. Commission one of your home! To do that, simply contact me, and we can go from there.

Brittany Howard Painting - Sold!

SOLD! 

Brittany Howard with her painting I painted of her after the Grammies

While watching the Grammy Awards several weeks ago, I waited anxiously to see our own 

Alabama Shakes up for Best New Artist. I got chills every time I saw Brittany and her grandmother whom she took with her to the event.  Brittany appeared on stage performing The Weight along with Zac Brown Band, Elton John, Mumford & Sons and Mavis Staples. A great moment that I loved and tried to live vicariously through her.  It brings tears sometimes to see such greatness and a feeling of pride for a hometown girl. I'm so proud of her and all the guys in The Shakes. They make us proud!

So how did the painting come about? As I told Brittany recently in the gallery, I love to paint things I love, things that inspire me, people with authentic passion for what they do. Brittany fit the bill!

And her mother purchased it for her several weeks ago, but we had to keep it a secret so Brittany wouldn't find out before she returned from being on tour.

What was it like meeting her?  Well, I told her right off that I was starstruck! She just giggled a little and said that it was great to meet me. And to have her portrait done by "Carole Forêt" was pretty cool.  Her grandmother and mother were with her, and they were so sweet and so proud of their baby girl. They wanted to hurry a bit so Brittany would be able to accomplish lunch in a neighboring city without too much hassle.  So they began taking lots of pictures of Brittany with the painting. I shot several too, of all of them.  Alabama Shakes was playing on the speakers to Brittany's delight, and she was having to squelch the desire to belt it on out, and tried to sing quietly a time or two--I heard her! And told her to let it out! I think I would have collapsed if she had....She was excited, and to have her in my studio, excited about the painting, was about as cool as things get! for an artist
And as soon as we finished the photo op, we hugged and said good-bye.  A fun 15 minutes!

I am grateful for such experiences in my career.  I do meet the coolest people sometimes--famous sometimes, but notable all the time. I love my clients who often become friends.  

And I can't have enough friends in my life--you are all very loved!

Are You Vulnerable? How Do You Feel About It?

Recently I watched a couple of TedX talks by Brené Brown and found them very interesting as well as compelling. Being a strongly spiritual person, I always find it interesting to be able to correlate talks about sociology/psyhcology to spirituality and the Bible. Brené did a wonderful job sharing her thoughts and research on the subject.

Vulnerability means taking risks.  Taking the risk to speak to someone first, to say "I love you" first, to forgive first and so many other things. To be REAL first is being very vulnerable because it reveals who you really are--to be truly seen. When you see someone else doing that, what do you think?  Is it not a beautiful thing? So why do we fear being vulnerable?

I find that the extra step beyond being vulnerable is the conscious choice to surrender spiritually to what God has in store for you.  It's not a process of simply giving up. It's a call to relationship.  One where one walks so closely with God that surrender is a daily challenge, yet privelege, even a call multiple times during the day. To surrender feels like a vulnerable place to be--because putting your full trust in God for your life can feel that way.  However, it is the surest journey to true fulfillment and happiness. As I listened, I equated vulnerability to surrender.  What are your thoughts after viewing this great talk? Let's start a dialogue!

How's Your 2013?

I hope your new year is going great! Mine has been wonderful. 

And I just want to share a couple of my latest paintings since I'm so behind sharing 

what all I have sold the past few months. 

I did this dog portrait of "Lou" and "Bird in the Snow"--both have lucky owners.

My website has been under a bit of renovation too--I have painting galleries separated into subject matter.  Maybe it will be easier to view what you're more interested in!

Stay tuned as I plan to update my blog more often. Be safe and be blessed!

Come visit us in the gallery during the holidays!

Hours: Tuesday - Saturday Noon - 6pm

Christmas Eve: 10am - 3pm

Closed beginning December 25th 

The Italian Collection

The Italian Collection is in the gallery and on my site!  As you may know, Claire and I didn't take students to Italy this past September so that Claire could relocate to Chicago with her family. She is still getting settled.  But we are gearing up for our Tuscan Journey for 2013.  Don't miss out on that!

See our C&C Tuscan Journey Site for info...

This collection of paintings is special to me and represents my time the past few years in Italy. 

It was a joy to finally put a body of work together for a show that opened on September 30th at beautiful Rivenbark & Roper Antiques in Huntsville, Alabama.  I thank Ken and Randy for an unbelievably amazing opening! It was beautiful, and I thank those who came for coming.  

There must have been 200 people there...

Two pieces have been sold from the original collection but I still have ten or eleven.  If you would like to see them, make an appointment and come see them in person or standby for upcoming events as the holidays approach. 

Each piece is for sale or you may wish to consider owning the entire collection.  

Each painting comes with a story behind each one.

Come visit the gallery!