“Building Brands that Build Success”

Carol Chant Egbert

I live in Quechee, Vermont, a small town in the Connecticut River Valley. My husband, Charles, is an architect and a playwright, and we share our home with Rosie, our Golden Retriever. I have two sons, Noah and Matthew.

I started to paint when my mother, who was a painter, sent me six tubes of watercolor paint; two yellows, two reds, and two blues, watercolor paper and three brushes. The enclosed note said "Give it a try. What's the worst thing that can happen?" --- I painted nothing but pears for months.

I paint simple things. When we travel I am always drawn to the markets. I love the color and forms in the fruit and vegetable markets. I often paint 'specimens' whether the object is a fruit or vegetable or a chair or a shoe. I find fruit, flowers, vegetables, leaves, plants, insects, and graphic designs to be my favorite compositions.

I work from memory, life, photographs, field guides, old botanical illustrations, books, and magazines.

The Paintings

I paint in watercolor, using primarily transparent pigments, because I love the quality of light and the purity of color and the fact that the white comes from the paper rather than white paint.

The most important ingredients in my work are the clarity and freshness of color and the quality of light. I think paintings are most interesting when the artist has left something for the viewer to do. I like to use unexpected colors. The leaves in my paintings have purples, blues, yellows and oranges, but when you look at the leaf it is a 'green leaf'.

My studio is a sunny bright, private space. I paint standing at an antique desk. My studio is on the second floor of our old farmhouse.