Biography

California Colorist en plein air

“My intention is to see beyond the physical qualities within a landscape. I choose locations in which the essence and story are more than contours and lines. My passion is to capture with oil paint the light that illuminates our landscape or water’s edge, finding my emotional inspiration at the same historical sources as the California Colorists.

On the coast near my longtime waterfront Sausalito studio I explore when the waves, clouds, and atmosphere create visual drama. In the fields of Napa Sonoma wine country, I work with an outdoor easel and palette vibrant with scarlet autumn vines. I create images which light up people’s lives, opening
them to deeper perceptions. I share these paintings as a joyful meditation on seeing, a dialogue in paint with the seasons, water, and land.” —Kay Carlson

A plein air /studio painter specializing in Northern California scenes, Kay Carlson’s colorful brushstrokes instantly usher her viewers into an emotional connection with the vineyards, and panoramic coastlines she calls home.
Kay Carlson received her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin in English Literature and studied postgraduate painting at the San Francisco Art Institute.

Her accomplishments include over forty solo exhibitions and hundreds of group shows. Solos include the Mondavi Winery, the University of California, and the BankAmerica World Headquarters in San Francisco. Her work has been displayed at the Picasso Museum in Barcelona, Spain, the Extemporanea di Nicola XXI in Tuscany, the Marin Community Foundation, M3Com and Loral Corporations in San Jose, and a host of galleries in New York, Los Angeles, Oregon and California. She was awarded the American Impressionist Society 2nd annual Merit award.