Formally educated in fine art and philosophy, Carol Dearborn is a third-generation artist from a family with a tradition of art for social action. Grandmother Anita Willets Burnham traveled the globe and promoted world peace through her writing, lectures and paintings in the American Impressionist style.

Dearborn spent a childhood immersed in art and nature in the care of her grandmother, aunt and mother, all painters. When not at work in her Salem studio, today she travels to paint and sketch in places of natural beauty and spirituality like Ipswich's Crane Beach, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the coast of British Columbia and the Sacred Valley of Peru. An activist for environmental awareness, reverence and preservation, the artist is known for her sensitive treatment of Adirondack forests in textile collage and her exploration of skies and water in pastel and oil.

In addition to her landscapes in various mediums, Dearborn has for many years used series of semi-abstract and symbolist paintings for energetic healing and transformation. She is also a portraitist in oil and pastel, working on commission and offering classes in portraiture as well as workshops in collage and other creative forms. Her work can be found in public and private collections in the US and abroad.

A percentage of sales is given to organizations that support global sustainability, such as the Pachamama Alliance, the Sufficiency Foundation and the Trustees of Reservations.

artist statement

My paintings of trees, water, mountains and sky are visual conversations with what I think of as the spirit of a place. I paint directly from nature, or I use sketches, photographs and montages as reference. Surrounded by the influence of natural events and expressions that engage me, I initially look for unexpected shapes and colors or the shadows cast by a certain angle of sunlight.

Building on these initial impressions I assemble loose, sculptural arrangements in collage using textiles and found objects. When working in pastel my process is similar: I begin with a quick gathering and layering of all essential elements on the painting's surface. Color and composition choices begin almost randomly, reflecting the fleeting delicacy of the natural world's fluctuations. Experiments and happy accidents are edited or refined to create the unexpected in a finished painting.

At times a central image emerges, bringing attention to the importance and eternal qualities of a single organism. I also make conscious choices to combine natural forms in new ways, such as placing a shell in the sky of a landscape. This allows the elements to communicate differently, encouraging the viewer to reconsider the interrelationships of nature. Symbolism is also important to my work, with symbolic colors and forms arising unplanned or deliberately chosen for the excitement, power, or serenity they may evoke.

I continue to learn from the wisdom of indigenous peoples who take responsibility for maintaining reciprocity and living in balance with Earth. Since the 1970s I have made textile paintings from recycled fabrics, yarns and other objects. As public awareness has grown and more and more ecologically responsible art papers and printing supplies have become available, I have researched and worked with materials such as bamboo, hemp and wood pulp papers from certified forests in my pastel paintings and prints.