Artist & Writer • Hot Springs, Arkansas
Carole
Katchen
From vibrant pastels to bold new oils on canvas — six decades of storytelling in paint.
Explore the Collection
From vibrant pastels to bold new oils on canvas — six decades of storytelling in paint.
Explore the CollectionCarole Katchen has been a professional artist for more than 60 years, showing her works in galleries and museums throughout the United States, Asia and South America. She has won numerous awards from art societies and museums. Her first solo exhibit was in 1972 at Saks Galleries in Denver, Colorado, and since then her work has been exhibited on six continents.
She has always loved to write. Her first poem was published in a national magazine when she was just 8 years old. Scholastic later published her story "I Was a Lonely Teenager," which sold over 700,000 copies. Her books about how to be a successful artist, and the three children's books she wrote and illustrated, have sold over one million copies.
Carole was drawn to Hot Springs, Arkansas, where an Italian artist named Benoit was bringing in major artists and art dealers to create a new center for the arts. When she arrived, she found a thriving art market and stayed for over 27 years.
She has worked in most painting media — receiving the Master Pastellist designation from the Pastel Society of America in 1996 — but recently she has been painting exclusively with oils on canvas. Most recently she completed four oil paintings for the Kuroshio Museum in Taiwan.
Carole's books have been published in French, German, Dutch, Chinese and English. She has written articles for Cosmopolitan, Parents and major art magazines, and lectured on art in universities from California to Shanghai.
A comprehensive guide to creating vibrant, expressive works in the pastel medium, drawing on decades of professional experience.
PastelConsidered a classic in the field, this book explores innovative approaches to pastel painting and color theory.
ClassicAn inspiring collection of concepts and approaches to spark creativity and push artistic boundaries.
InspirationMaster the power of light and dark to create dramatic, compelling compositions that tell a story.
TechniqueProfessional marketing strategies for building a successful art career, from gallery relationships to collector outreach.
BusinessExploring the bold, warm side of pastel painting with techniques for creating vivid, energetic artwork.
Pastel
People think that storytelling is only done with words, but you can also tell a story in a picture.
Starting with actual people — models or reference sketches captured in public. Features, expressions, gestures, costumes and props each tell something about who the character is.
What are the characters doing? Placement, leaning, eye direction — close together for gossip, looking away for mystery, separated for tension.
An art gallery gets pictures on the wall. A living room gets furniture and curtains. A public event gets abstract background figures suggesting a crowd.
Bright and colorful for joy. A single light source for drama. Dark colors with bright accents for mystery. The palette carries the emotion.
