Carol Wallace Biography
American artist Carol Wallace has been a gallery artist for over 27 years. In addition, she is one of the nation's most prolific commission artists. She is also an illustrator and designer for the upscale retail stationery and giftware markets. Her fine art photographs are another extension of her creativity. Diversity is her trademark.
Carol creates both large and miniature watercolor and acrylic paintings that hang in private, corporate, and public collections in the United States and abroad, and has done extensive custom artwork for clientele including stars of the entertainment and music industries, business leaders, politicians, and sports icons. During her career she has been represented by numerous art galleries and agents throughout the United States and in Great Britain. Carol's fine art spans from painting international landscapes, coastal vistas, architecture and street scenes, to gardens and wildlife. In addition to her serious one-of-a-kind fine art, she has a special collection of whimsical images which she makes available to people by selling the usage rights for various applications.
Whether she is painting a cottage in England's Lake District or a winding stone wall adorned with blue hydrangea in the Azores, Carol recreates the charm and beauty of these places and, at the same time, suggests a hidden dimension. One senses the people who have passed through, and imagines what might have occurred there. "I try to capture the romance of a county road or the mystery of an old barn," she says. "I like for people to search within themselves and bring back their own memories."
The artist's pen and ink illustrations have been featured in tourism guides, newspapers and magazines, and on book jackets, wine labels, fly fishing manuals, sheet music, cookbooks, posters, and calendars.
In 1997, Carol created a unique venture called Preserve America® which is a combination of fine art, writing, public service, education, philanthropy and commerce. She has traveled to over 1,000 towns and cities since 2000 after she entered into an association with Crane & Company, fine stationers, and their printing division, Excelsior Printing Company, with the purpose of documenting all aspects of Americana through her art, photographs, and writing on exclusive custom note cards called the Preserve America Collection. The original art she paints for Preserve America have a mission. They have a life of their own and are used in a variety of ways. The "world-class" three-paneled note cards and montage posters, reproduced from the originals, are considered to be "emissaries of history." They bring heightened awareness about different regions of America, serve as an inspiration to others wanting to preserve, and are a source of income for gift shops in museums, hotels and inns, and stationery stores across the nation.
Since that singular collaboration with Crane & Company, Carol has built a vast network of over 15 other printing and manufacturing companies (that do all their work in America), creative people, directors of preservation organizations, museum curators, and heritage tourism directors, all of whom share her vision of blanketing America with stories of history, preservation, and culture through the Preserve America national custom card, poster, and product line.
In 2003, the significance of this venture was recognized by First Lady Laura Bush who, when learning about Carol's nationwide effort, invited the artist to visit the White House and, several months later, invited the artist to attend one of her preservation initiative events in Portland, Maine where Carol was an official greeter to Mrs. Bush, along with Maine Governor John Baldacci and several others.
Carol created the pen and ink illustration that was engraved onto the commemorative USPO First Day of Issue Covers which were released at the dedication of the National World War II Memorial. The Covers continue to be sold around the world through the National World War II Memorial Web site. She was also commissioned to create an original watercolor and limited edition prints of the landmark, which were presented to high-ranking officials of the American Battle Monuments Commission as a thank-you for making the World War II Memorial a reality. Carol was commissioned to create a painting of Ellis Island which was used by the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation to publish posters, note cards, and greeting cards to sell on their American Family Immigration History Center Web site. Two posters, the 2'x 3' two-sided Country Stores of Vermont poster and the Historic Bucks County poster are in the permanent print collection of the Library of Congress. Many Preserve America note cards and posters are used by the Smithsonian Institution for research and education purposes. Several of Carol's original works are in the permanent traveling art collection of the United States Coast Guard.
A painting of a lone saxophone player entitled The Music Will Play Again, was printed as a holiday card in 2005 by one of Carol's licensing partners, Good Cause Greetings. One hundred percent of the profits went to the American Red Cross and America's Second Harvest to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Her artwork has helped other charitable organizations including Global Health Council, Wildlife Trust, Habitat for Humanity, American Farmland Trust, Maine Wilderness Watershed Trust, Delta Waterfowl Foundation, American Heart Association, Prevent Child Abuse America, and the March of Dimes.
The motivation for much of Carol's published work has been to help those organizations that played a part in her family's history: The American Farmland Trust, to honor her family's rural roots; the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, to honor her grandparents who came to America through Ellis Island; the Maine Wilderness Watershed Trust, to honor generations of her husband's family who have enjoyed the tranquility of one of America's last remaining true sporting camps; and the National World War II Memorial, to honor her father who was a veteran of that war.
In addition to her artistic ventures, Carol is also known for her work in coordinating large grassroots-corporate-governmental public service efforts where everyone works together for the good of the cause. Her best known work was for the 1982 State of Connecticut's Better Yet Connecticut TV advertising campaign for heritage tourism. She was appointed by then Governor William O'Neill to his Connecticut-Vacation Travel Council and named Executive Director of the associated TV ad campaign. Carol came up with the concept, designed the story board, lined up hundreds of volunteers across the state including the talent which included actors Paul Newman, Art Carney, Susan Saint James, June Havoc and Mario van Peebles, musician Skitch Henderson and artist Eric Sloane, was the media spokesperson, raised the necessary funds, and oversaw the production to make this ad campaign the first of its kind ever done in America. Carol received many awards for her work including the 1982 Connecticut Tourism Award which was presented to her by Governor O'Neill at the Governor's Mansion. Her work was the beginning of Connecticut's Film Commission. The experience garnered from this unique tourism campaign was the training ground for what Carol is now doing decades later on a national level for Preserve America. She is bringing stories about America and Americans to the forefront by collaborating with people who share her vision.
Carol Wallace is an elected member of the Salmagundi Art Club in New York City, NY and the National League of American Pen Women in Washington, D.C. and also a member of the American Watercolor Society and National Watercolor Society. She is listed in art reference books including Best of New York Artists and Artisans 2005, Best of America - Watercolor Artists and Artisans 2006, Artistic Touch 3, and Who's Who in American Art.