FEATURED ARTIST: CAROLINE FAY

Caroline Fay is an Irish painter based in Walton, in the Western Catskills. The natural world, in all its myriad forms, is the root source of inspiration for her art. Caroline’s work explores the relationships between human and nature, life cycles and environmental concerns. She sees both nature and art as reviving and healing forces and when combined, offering a way to reflect upon, connect to and express that relationship between the earth and ourselves.

Her work takes on many visual forms, from detailed still life and smaller oil paintings of birds, bugs and foliage to large scale figurative portraits of threatened species. Her most recent collection, titled "Wetlands," was inspired by the rich, marshy landscapes of Delaware County, where she lives, combined with scenes from her homeland of Ireland. This series was exhibited in a successful solo show at Hawk and Hive, a gallery and store in Andes, NY, in November 2022.

Caroline has a Fine Art degree and studied at the Art Students League of New York. She has won multiple awards, including being the solo award winner of the 2019 Decentralization (DEC)

Individual Artist Grant from New York State Council on the Arts, which supported her solo show "Hollow Bones," a two-part exhibition of art dedicated to raising awareness of threatened bird species and their habitats in Delaware County. Caroline has collaborated on and led numerous art projects and murals across Delaware County, including the 450-square-foot mural titled "Walton Rising" on Walton’s main Delaware Street.

Caroline founded the Caroline Fay Studio (formerly Big Little Art Studio) in the village of Walton in 2017. This old general store is home to her personal art studio, a gallery and where she teaches art workshops and courses throughout the year. With over 15 years of experience in teaching art in Ireland, France and the UK, she enjoys helping others tap into their unique creative abilities and to explore new ways of expression.

"I find inspiration in the landscapes of Gerhard Richter, the poetic moods of Tonalist art, writers like naturalist author John Muir, and artist and conservationist William Morris," she says. "As an artist and environmentalist, I hope to use my art to inspire, motivate and raise awareness."

‘This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never dried all at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.’

Look for more of Caroline’s beautiful work throughout this issue. To see more of her work, please visit: www.carolinefayart.com