Carol Swinney's Biography

Today Carol Swinney is known as a plein-air palette knife landscape painter - a distinction which separates her from the pack. Over the years, she has been perfecting her palette knife technique and moving toward pure landscape subjects. This technique has been a most important step in her artistic development. "A painting knife gives rich colors and amazing depth, like you're sculpting a painting..."

Swinney grew up on her grandparents' ranch near Casper, Wyoming inside a vast natural canvas of mountains, canyons, dramatic skies and wildlife. She continues to return to this homestead each spring, but has found her winter niche in a home and studio in Tucson, Arizona, where the desert world has been added to her repertoire.

"Being an artist is what I wanted to do most with my life," says Swinney who was influenced by several generations of artists in her family, including her mother, who encouraged her and sent her for private art lessons as a child.

After studying art at the University of Wyoming, Swinney found two inspirational mentors. She began years of studying the palette knife technique with landscape painter Bill Freeman in the Grand Tetons, and painting with him in winter in the Arizona desert. Swinney also studied extensively with wildlife and landscape artist Greg McHuron, painting with a combination of brushes and knives, and mastering color and design.

Eventually Swinney's focus turned to landscape subjects exclusively, all executed entirely with palette knives. From her mentors' guidance, she developed her signature style of painting western landscapes on location in the mountains and desert canyons of California, Colorado, Arizona and her beloved Wyoming Grand Teton range.

By the late 1990s Swinney was painting full time, and soon after began her road to recognition with numerous solo shows and museum exhibitions. She has received over 18 awards since 2005, including 3 Best of Show and 4 People's Choice awards, Best Landscape at the 2005 National Oil Painters of America show, and the Award of Excellence at the 2008 Oil Painters of America Western Regional Show.

Swinney has been the subject of many art magazine feature articles over the years. Recent articles are in the International Artist June/July 2007 issue; the Western Art Collector January 2009 article "Power of Nature;" and the January 2010 issue of Southwest Art Magazine. Among her many honors, she is a signature member of the Tucson Plein Air Painters and the Oil Painters of America, and was invited to become a Master Signature Member of American Women Artists in 2010.

Art of the West article featuring 10 top Plein Air painters, Nov/Dec. 2011

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