| Whether
recognized as an artist, wife, mother, grandmother, or evangelist, Carolyn Blish's deep
personal relationship with the Lord draws her out of her studio to share her faith.
Through her art, writing, and speaking, she continues to praise Him in line, color, and
word.
Artist Carolyn Blish knows well the hours and effort required for an
artist to paint a flower. But for her, painting a flower is a labor of love, a joyful gift
that she can share with others, and that is why she loves to paint. "Whenever I see
anything beautiful and serene and happy, I want to share it. One of the best ways of
sharing is through limited edition prints. They give me a sense of connection with others
I'll never meet and never know. That's what I love about prints."
The paintings of Carolyn Blish are a celebration of life and love. Some subjects, she
says, call her to paint them. "Sometimes the artist chooses the subject, and other
times, the subject chooses the artist. An artist visualizes a painting in the mind's eye.
No one else knows. But the artist sees the total picture before the first
brushstroke."
"Carolyn Blish had been given a rare talent from God and has given it back to Him in
her artwork, immortalizing in watercolor her memories with tenderness, humor, and
love." --- Ruth Graham
Blish is a former model, actress, and television newscaster who began painting in the
early 1950's. Her mother recognized early on that her daughter had artistic gifts. Blish
always loved to sketch painted little designs on her saddle shoes. Soon, everyone in her
high school wanted similar designs on their shoes. Blish had to hire five friends to keep
up with the demand as the fad she originated spread all over town. "My mother was
wonderful. She even let me paint on the walls in my bedroom. She bought me paint and
brushes and encourage me from the start."
Blish first began exhibiting her art nationally in 1965. A member of the prestigious
American Watercolor Society, watercolor is her preferred medium because of its spontaneous
quality: "In watercolors, nature follows its own course; the artist just helps it
along." Children and flowers are two of her favorite subjects that just seem to go
together. Both are soft and fresh, fragile and fleeting. With seascapes that beckon,
bouquets that enchant, and children who radiate joy, she shares the things she loves most:
"Art is about love, and my language is paint. I want to share with other people the
things that I love."
The popularity of Carolyn Blish's art has made it an American standard. She transfers her
own delight in her subject matter right into her canvases. She has an endless fascination
with her subjects: the ever-changing moods and rhythms of the shoreline, the undulating
shapes of the dunes, flowers, children, and woodland subjects - all are images that offern
authenticity without artifice. They are, she says, images that "call me to be
painted" Blishs art is indeed a celebration of life.
"My painting reminds me how all beauty points to God, who is the Creator of all
things beautiful. I believe every work of fine art bears witness to Him." --- Carolyn
Blish
Published by The Greenwich Workshop since 1973, Carolyn Blish and her husband Stanley live
in Newark, Delaware. “My faith is very important to me,” says Carolyn,
“and painting reminds me how all beauty points to God, who is the Creator of all
things beautiful. I believe every work of fine art bears witness to Him.”
Blish’s fine art career was effectively born when she moved to Delaware with her new
husband and began shopping for art to decorate the wall of her first apartment. Unable to
find something she liked, she decided to paint it herself. Since then she has dedicated
herself to capturing the wonder all around her, best known for her paintings of children
and landscapes, as well as shoreline scenes. Her book Drawing Closer: The Art of Carolyn
Blish was published in 1998. She is a member of the American Watercolor Society, the
American Artist Professional League and Allied Artists of America. |
