About
Carol took a circuitous route to botanical art. A one-time draftsman, surveyor’s cartographer, and tractor-trailer driver all were steps along the trail that contribute to her work in the field and studio.
A freelancer for over 30 years, Carol's main obsession has always been orchids, but rare wildflowers, heirloom fruits and other interesting plants are fair game. Living in the Hudson Valley provides perfect opportunities for exploring plant diversity. Her artwork has been exhibited and collected around the world. Among recent venues are Jonathan Cooper Gallery, London; Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC; Shirley Sherwood Gallery, Kew, UK: UBS Galleries and Newhouse Galleries in New York; Museum de Zwarte Tulp, Lisse, the Netherlands; and the Marciana Library, Venice, Italy. Her work is in the collections of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Smithsonian Institution, the Hunt Institute, and numerous private and corporate collections throughout the Americas and Europe. She recently was invited to contribute to the Grootbos Florilegium, a project to document and raise awareness of the Cape Floral Kingdom in South Africa. A book has been published documenting the project.
She was honored to receive the 2024 Shirley Sherwood Award for Botanical Art. As part of this award her work is on display at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, during the year. In 1995 she received a Gold Medal from the Royal Horticultural Society for her watercolors of Paphiopedilum orchids, and was the recipient of the 1998 “Bouchier ASBA Award for Excellence” from the American Society of Botanical Artists. In 2013 she received the first Lankester Award for Orchid Art in Cartago, Costa Rica and in 2016, the Orchid Digest Medal of Honor.
Carol is Exhibitions Director of the American Society of Botanical Artists,, curating and coordinating exhibitions throughout the US. She teaches workshops around the country and internationally in person and online devoted to techniques of watercolor painting on vellum.
In 2024, Carol was lucky enough to travel to London to receive the Shirley Sherwood Award for Botanical Art from Dr. Sherwood at Kew Gardens, where an exhibition of her work is on view throughout 2024. The award is given to one artist per year, and Carol joins only two previous recipients, Mieko Ishikawa from Japan, and Beverly Allen from Australia, in holding this award. It is given in recognition of ‘her broad and significant contribution to botanical art’. For more information about the award, go to the Shirley Sherwood Collection.
Botanical Art Techniques
Launched September 22, 2020
Watch our virtual book launch here.
“The top botanical art compendium—a justifiable claim.” —Artists Magazine
Botanical Art Techniques is in its second printing, and has been described as ‘the most thorough how-to available on every major technique of botanical artistry.’ A beautifully illustrated, one-of-a-kind practical guide to a variety of techniques used in botanical art and illustration, over 50 ASBA artists have contributed materials to the book. This essential reference features how-to tutorials for all the major techniques, moving from basic to applied to advanced, so the reader can build on their skills as they progress. Each tutor brings their unique working style to the book, demonstrating a variety of viewpoints and methods. It is also a beautiful hardcover book, with beautifully reproduced artworks from around the world.
Find it here.
Publisher: Timber Press
Hardcover, 416 pages
ISBN 9781604697902
Publications
Carol's work appears in many of Dr. Shirley Sherwood’s books, including Treasures of Botanical Art, in "Curtis’s Botanical Magazine", and most recently in Phillip Cribb and Christopher Purver's monograph Slipper Orchids of the Tropical Americas. This first-ever formal treatment of the genera Phragmipedium, Mexipedium and Selenipedium can be ordered here.
Other recent publications featuring her work are The Shirley Sherwood Collection: Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art; and Phaidon’s book Plant, a collection of over 300 botanical works of art in all media throughout history. She was featured on a short video published by Plant Pop here.