“Art is my vehicle for understanding and living life with the hope of sharing my visual adventures with others,” explains Carol D. Koutnik. The artist’s work reflects a lifetime of travel. Paper, pencils and watercolors fill suitcases in readiness for depiction of varied cultures and landscapes.
Koutnik’s central-European heritage of potters, frame guilders and painters bestow a strong sense of aesthetic in the artist’s background. Married young to a public health doctor, Al Koutnik, the couple spent many years with their three children living and working not only in the United States, but also abroad in Europe and the Middle East.
Although Koutnik is a world traveler and has studied at prestigious schools, she has a special affinity for the Texas Gulf Coast. “I love to go out in the morning on Live Oak Peninsula and paint en plein air. Colors are rich in pinks, yellows, greens and grey blues of early coastal light. Soft air from the sea influences everything from the way watercolor behaves on paper to my mood. I return home refreshed, ready to work in my studio on paintings of other places and times.” Today Carol lives, paints, teaches and plays in Rockport, Texas, when she isn’t traveling! She has exhibited her drawings and paintings in the United States, Germany and Saudi Arabia. She is a signature member of the Texas and Colorado Watercolor Societies with many awards to her credit.
From plein air to studio, Koutnik’s paintings display an exuberant lifestyle. “Wherever you are, that’s where you’re at. Rejoice!”
Biography courtesy of Carol D. Koutnik
Art Institute of San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA (1972-1974)
School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA (1961)
Award of Merit, Colorado Watercolor Society State Exhibition, Colorado History Museum, Denver, CO, USA (1996)
Hallmark Award, Hallmark Company, Chicago, IL, USA (1960)