BIOGRAPHY

Carol McGraw was born very early on a cold winter morning in Rochester, New York.  She moved with her family when she was nine to the sunny desert climate of Phoenix, Arizona.  Always considered “the artistic one” among her seven siblings, Carol was constantly sketching, doing art projects, and taking art classes in school.  She entered Arizona State University to pursue her love of drawing in 1975.  During her college years, she also developed a love for the emotional release of painting.

Earning a B.A. in Studio Art, Carol experimented with her approach to art and exhibited in a variety of exhibitions in Arizona.  During this time, she met and married her husband, Pat, and they became the parents of a beautiful daughter, Molly.  In 1997, Carol and her family moved back across country to Maryland and currently live in Baltimore County.

Upon arriving in the Baltimore area, Carol found a nurturing atmosphere in which to work and grow artistically.  She has continued her studies with a variety of accomplished artist/teachers and exhibits regularly throughout Maryland.  Venues that have shown her work include the Antreasian Gallery, Jordan Faye Contemporary Gallery, the Columbia Center for the Arts, and the Carroll Mansion.  Carol’s paintings, drawings, and linoleum block prints can be found in numerous collections around the country.

Carol keeps active in the Maryland arts community, being a longtime Board Member, former Co-President, and current Program Coordinator of the Women Artists’ Forum and a current member of the Creative Alliance and the Maryland Art Place.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

I work freely and expressively, exaggerating and distorting color, shape and line to convey my reactions to outer and inner stimuli.    Whether using one medium or a variety of media, my art is an emotional response that encompasses my instincts, experiences, hopes and dreams.