Claire Beadon Carnell , Oil Artist

Biography

Claire Beadon Carnell received a B.A. with honors in Art/English from Shippensburg University in 1984, and has studied with Wilma Leatherman Shearer, Karl Foster, and Patricia Walach Keough. In 1995 she participated in a plein air landscape painting workshop in Virginia, instructed by Frank Hobbs and Ron Boehmer.

A resident of Cumberland County, Claire has been painting representational oil landscapes, florals, portraits and still-lifes for the past twenty-five years. Her style is best described as 'impressionistic realism'.

Her paintings have been exhibited at the William Ris Gallery in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, The Gallery Above the Studio in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, the Whittaker Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and the Art Center School and Galleries in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

She has won numerous awards in both juried and open competition, including a Robert Stanley Best of Show Award and a People's Choice Award. Several of her paintings have been purchased by the Shippensburg University for display in their permanent art collection.

In addition to providing commissioned art for both individuals and public organizations since 1980, she also has extensive experience painting wall murals. In 2000, she was commissioned to design and paint a wall mural for the Mount Holly Springs Elementary School in Mount Holly Springs, Pennsylvania, and the following year she painted a wall mural for the Lamberton Middle School teacher's room in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

For the past six years Claire has been teaching oil painting classes from her studio, 'Pine School Studio', located in Gardners, Pennsylvania. She has also provided individual instruction in oil painting and drawing.

Claire is a member of the Mechanicsburg Art Center School and Galleries, the Art Association of Harrisburg, and the Perry County Council of the Arts.

Artist's Statement

“I have always found nature to be an endless source of renewal and inspiration, and each piece of art that I create involves my own spiritual search for the beauty and serenity in an ever-changing, ever-stressful world.  I feel I have succeeded with my work if the viewer is able to connect with my painting and experience the light, colors and mystery of life's journey.”