The Fine Art Studio of Kim Carlton
Original Paintings and Limited Edition Prints
| About the Artist |
Kim Carlton in her studio
Portrait Society of America
Oil Painters of America
The Salmagundi Club
American Artists Professional League
Artists' Fellowship
Outdoor Painters Society
As an artist, I want my work to touch your soul and resonate so deeply that it feels intimately familiar to you. I work from life as life permits, painting figure and still life, portrait and landscape. My subjects are the things that bring delight and joy to me—the things I find compelling and beautiful. When I meet a scene that touches me, capturing and exploring it on the canvas allows me to become more closely acquainted with it. I imagine myself a storyteller, conveying what captivated me about the subject while staying true to the spirit of the original. My goal as an artist is to express the essence of subjects with simplicity, brevity and beauty.
About Jude 25
I write “Jude 25” or “J25” on my paintings when I sign them, and I’m frequently asked, “What does that mean?”
I struggle with perfectionism. This does not mean I hold out for perfection in my painting. On the contrary, it means I am never pleased or happy with my work, believing that one more thing would make it better. In the early 90’s, when I started producing art for purchase, I tried so hard to match my work to my vision, but I just could not do it. When someone admired my work, I explained how it was not admirable, where it failed, why they were wrong. I tried to describe the abstract concept that existed in my head, so they could appreciate the shortcomings of the work along with me.
Seeing this, my husband took me aside and said, “Look, you think you are being modest when you do that. Actually, you’re being prideful and you’re insulting the sensitivities of these people. In effect, you’re saying, ‘You are too ignorant to see that this is not good enough.’”
I was horrified at this! I realized that he was right—I couldn’t let them just enjoy the work. I didn’t think it was "Art" yet; I wanted it to be better. I couldn't let go of it.
He continued, “Your talent is a gift from God, but the art it produces is not for you. It’s meant to be shared, and it won’t become Art until someone else receives it; until then, it’s just a work in progress. You are preventing that. You have to find a way to give God the credit and let go, so it can gracefully leave you and become Art.
Well, how on earth do you do that? What am I to say when someone admires my work? “Oh, it’s a gift from God.” Please! That’s not too graceful. Neither is a long, explanatory sermon. I needed to find a way to say to God, “I’ve done my best and now this will exist independently of me. Whatever happens with it is up to You.”
Every year I read through the entire Bible. Shortly after my husband and I had that discussion, as I read verse 25 in the Book of Jude, I saw the words that were welling up in my heart:
And now, to the only God our Savior
Be glory and majesty,
Power and authority,
Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Before all ages,
Now and forevermore.
Amen.
So now and forevermore, the moment I determine there is nothing else I should do to a work, I dedicate it to God and write “Jude 25” on it. Then I sign and date it. It’s not perfect, but I am a work in progress, after all.
Jude 25.
Autobiography
What is true of most artists is true of me: I have always been an artist—there was no starting point. As a teenager, there were certain things I knew about my future, chief of which were these two: I would be an artist, and I would make a good living. As I prepared to graduate from high school in 1975, however, I was told that I was not really an artist, but merely a "copyist," only able to accurately reproduce what I saw rather than create from my imagination. I was counseled that this meant I would not be a commercially-interesting artist and, therefore, never able make a good living at art. In college, I learned from the Fine Art Department that "Art" consisted of abstract expressionism and the like, which held no interest for me at all. Given this understanding of the 1970s art world, I reluctantly came to believe that career and art would have to be separate endeavors, so I majored in my second love—English Literature.
During this time, new fields were opening up to women and my eyes were peeled. One Sunday morning, on the cover of Parade magazine I saw a woman airline captain smiling at me from the cockpit, and my world changed. The article said that the airlines were hiring women. It told of the travel, the schedule, the income: in short, it told me how I could make a good living and still be an artist.
It took no time at all to learn I couldn't afford the training to become a pilot. However, I knew from having been raised in the Naval Aviation community that the military will pay you to learn to fly! And they will teach you to fly jets if you're good. After interviewing some Naval officers, I decided to enter the Navy Officer Candidate School, then move laterally into aviation. Wasn't this a great idea?
I was commissioned an Ensign in early 1980 and received orders to an admin job in a flight training squadron in Beeville, Texas. When I checked in, being the first woman officer ever to do so—and a ground-pounder at that—the squadron's skipper, Commander Bob Kiem, asked what I hoped to accomplish there. I told him candidly, "Sir, my goals are to stay single and to get my wings." Well, he burst into laughter, told me (using colorful Navy language) that he approved, then picked up the phone and got me into survival school. By Friday, I was fully qualified to fly in the backseat of the Navy TA-4J Skyhawk advanced jet trainer, and on my first cross-country trip!
I then applied for flight school. At that time the Navy was under Affirmative Action orders to produce five women pilots annually. I was the sixth woman chosen that year— I was like Miss Runner-Up: if anything happened to any of the other five, I would take her position. It also meant that if I kept my nose clean, I was certain to be selected the following year. Skipper Kiem made it possible for me to fly whenever my workload permitted, so I racked up valuable jet time that none of my competitors had—plus, I had all these Navy pilots writing endorsements for me. I looked golden on paper. Nothing could stop me now.
Every night as I was falling asleep, I would lay my right hand on my chest and imagine the feel of the wings of gold. I believed then that if you could picture a thing, you could accomplish a thing. I purposely did not date anyone who I thought I might accidentally fall in love with. You know, the heart is deceitful above all things and I was not to be derailed.
Now, I was also a distance runner and spent many hours just running. There was this great guy who lived around the corner from me in the BOQ who would generously ride his bike along with me, telling me stories and calling out my split times. He was a Navy flight instructor named Russ and he was "safe," as he was not my type. However, he was very smart and funny, and I enjoyed being with him enormously. Can you see the writing on the wall? I didn't.
One evening as the sun was going down I was running alone and fighting with my heart. It was sneaking up on me from behind: I liked being with Russ more than I liked anything else. Oh, how I cried and strenuously reminded God about my rock-solid plan. I redoubled my ambition and sharpened my focus. As I was falling asleep, my hand pressed to my chest, I could now feel my heartbeat. I thought I might have to betray my heart to get my wings.
The week I was accepted into the flight program for 1981, Russ received orders to a fighter squadron in San Diego to fly the F-14A Tomcat, and he proposed marriage. I believed that I could do both, but he believed that a long-distance marriage was not a marriage. He said that if I became his wife he would teach me to fly. I had to decide which dotted line to sign.
We were married that October and moved to San Diego. Through a series of odd events I ended up in Naval Intelligence—first at the Naval Amphibious Base on Coronado Island, then at the Fleet Intelligence Training Command—eventually teaching political warfare and counter-terrorism! In both my Navy jobs, I also served, ad-hoc, as an artist for the command. And in both my Navy jobs, I loved what I was doing. If I had written my own script, I would have stayed in the Navy—it was that good—but again, God had other plans.
My last day on active duty was the day our first son was born. By this time my fighter-pilot husband was (ironically!) a brand new airline pilot. I entered the Navy Reserve and we moved to a small town in Texas, where we had two more sons and restored a turn-of-the-century house.
Fast-forward twenty-three years and you find me still in Texas—near Houston now—and still an artist. It's poetic, in retrospect, to see how much more artful than mine are God's plans. He had to pry my fingers off my own plans, but the things He gave me to hold onto in their place are so much better! Who would have guessed? I'm part of a wonderful community of representational artists who love what I love and do what I do. And the poetry of it: I have been able to pursue my art freely and make a good living—just not the way I pictured at all. Instead of flying solo in this life, I've been given a partner and three wingmen. My motto is Paint Your Joy! My prayer is that you will receive my work, that it may become Fine Art.
Artist's Biography
The oldest of five children born to a Naval Aviator and his wife, Kim Carlton spent her childhood moving around the United States. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Old Dominion University, but has always been self-directed as a fine artist. A perennial student, her art has evolved over the years from monochromatic Realism, in which she mastered line, value, shape, form, edges, texture, and design. She worked in charcoal, conté, graphite, ink, and scrimshaw, with forays into etching and sculpting. This background provided her with a solid foundation from which to venture into color. In the 1990s, Kim moved into pastels, watercolor and, finally, oil painting. While she continues to explore these various media, it is oil painting that has allowed her to most fully express her vision.
Passionate about her art, Kim loves working with other artists, believing the synergy of that environment allows exponential growth of the individuals and quantum leaps in their collective experiments. She has learned from masters, both living and long-expired. "My work shows influences from every one of my teachers," she asserts, crediting Everett Raymond Kinstler as having the most profound influence on her art. "Mr. Kinstler's artistic pedigree is enviable, coming as he does directly from John Singer Sargent. He was able to help me, not to paint like himself but to begin doing what Sargent did—absorb what has come before me, influenced by what is going on around me, synthesized and expressed through my unique artistic self. He told me to quit thinking linearly, to start working spatially in planes of color-value. It truly is like learning to express your same thoughts in a new language; it took several years to become fluent."
Today, Kim is equally at ease in studio or working en plein air. Her style is Representational, with subjects ranging from the still life to the figure, the landscape to the interior. The materials she uses are the very finest available. Her work has been honored in national and international competitions, and she is a member of the Portrait Society of America, Oil Painters of America, The Salmagundi Club, American Artists Professional League, Artists' Fellowship, and Outdoor Painters Society.
To purchase any of these paintings, please email Scarlet Sage Gallery
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This site was last updated May 03, 2010
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