2023 03 Captured Impressions by Carol Gunn

The FMAAA Art Center welcomes accomplished artist and Bonaparte, Iowa native Carol Gunn to the Main Gallery for a month-long exhibition entitled Captured Impressions featuring pastel and new explorations in mixed media work. Carol Gunn is a member of Iowa Artist and Iowa Pastel Society and is currently investigating color and a variety of techniques used to work with her favorite medium of pastels. Gunn states, "My subject matter tends to vary. I am influenced by color, texture, and reflected light. If an image attracts my attention, I want to draw it. It’s my way of capturing a moment of joy I’ve had while viewing an image. Some of the art I create has a story that goes with it. In other cases, I was mesmerized by something I felt when I saw it." Carol’s work tends to be detail-oriented and realistic, her compositional skills honed by her many years employing the medium. It will be exciting to see her recognizable and skillful pastel work paired with the new mixed media direction she is exploring.
Carol Gunn attended IHCC in Centerville, Iowa, and was greatly influenced by her instructor Richard Dutton. She graduated with an AA Degree from IHCC then attended Northeast Missouri State University (NMSU), now known as Truman State University, in Kirksville, Missouri. After graduating from NEMU, Carol taught art at Fox Valley Schools for seven years. When her daughter, Erica, was born, she began teaching in the Harmony School District, where she taught 28 years before retiring. Carol says she, “was blessed with the joy of teaching many students and sharing the wonder of creating art.” Many of her students went on to successful careers in art. Carol is now happily retired and has time to devote to her own studio work and art practice. She loves gardening, and it’s not a surprise that one of her favorite subjects is floral. She also enjoys doing landscapes and still-life objects. She resides just a few miles outside of Bonaparte with her husband Allen. Captured Impressions is sponsored this month by Bartlett Instruments.