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Carolyn Thompson Dudley studied painting and printmaking at Virginia Commonwealth University where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting and Printmaking. She continued her studies at Eastern Virginia Medical School where she received a Master of Science degree in Art Psychotherapy. After working six years in private psychiatric hospitals, she began working intensely on her own artwork. Carolyn has also held numerous volunteer positions, including on the Gloucester Montessori School Board, the Gloucester Arts on Main Board, the Arts at Abingdon Committee, the Gloucester Arts Festival Committee, and the Cook Foundation Board.
Carolyn’s art, as is her life, is grounded in Virginia. Raised in Southwest Virginia where the landscape of forms and fields, the land itself and its people is imprinted in her memory. Carolyn currently works in her Gloucester, Virginia, studio near the Poropotank Creek.
When painting plein air, the complexity of nature is what draws me to be outside. Whether I am hiking through on a trail or canoeing the Dragon Run Swamp, I want to remember how my senses react to moments where the light and colors of a place work together to suggest a memorable composition. Working plein air lets me choose the colors and compositions that speak to me and are often later expanded in studio work. During my years as an Art Therapist, when I helped others express their stories and emotions through their own artwork, my role was as a facilitator and, when needed, interpreter. These experiences have greatly sensitized me to my visual perception of landscape and the people around me. Presently in my own work, I am using what I know, what I see and how I feel to compose and paint. I want to be heavily influenced by the landscape and the people around me to create images that speak to others.
TAG is an acronym for Tappahannock Artists’ Guild and Tappahannock Art Gallery. We are dedicated to making our community a more beautiful place.
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