Carin Wagner
Carin Wagner’s deep reverence for nature inspires everything she paints. “With great attention to detail, light and mood, my paintings capture my sense of wonder and awe,” she says. “Walking through a forest, looking up at the leafy green canopy and outstretched limbs of our lofty friends the trees, listening to birdsong and the wind rustling gives me great peace. Hundreds of hours of meticulous, detailed painting are required to bring that moment to others.”
According to Wagner, “Skies offer another source of wonder and help in changing our perspective, with evershifting formations of towering cumulous or wispy cirrus with glowing colors. Life is an experiment in ever shifting reality. Many of the things that support life on earth are in danger. The things we need to protect, in turn, if cared for, will protect us. Clean air and water [and] trees to help cool, filter air and keep the water cycle intact are all crucial to our survival.”
Recently she has been traveling and exploring forests and wild areas to photograph vulnerable and vanishing trees. She’s taking videos to capture the movement of the wind and the sounds of the ecosystems to accompany the paintings. “I have been giving away native tree saplings at my exhibits for years,” Wagner says, “and will continue to work to inspire others to care for our wild treasures.”
September 20 through October 15, her work will be on view during the International Guild of Realism’s 14th annual Juried Exhibition at Principle Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia.