Passion Inspired by her mother
By: Tana Christian Suggs [email protected]
As children, we inherit a lot from our parents thanks to genetics – the color of one’s hair and eyes are just a couple of those things. But we can also inherit more than just the physical attributes.
Suwanee artist Carol van Dyck said that her love for art and painting came from her own mother. She explained that her mother, Betty Jean Palmer, was an artist, and while growing up, art was always around her in the way of art supplies and art books, and van Dyck always felt that art was something she might be interested in pursuing.
It wasn’t until college that van Dyck began to appreciate the seeds of inspiration planted by her early exposure to art, and during college, van Dyck embraced her appreciation and talent and earned her bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Illinois.
Since then, van Dyck has spent more than 30 years creating art in a variety of mediums, and it was while hiking that van Dyck was also inspired to incorporate her love of hiking and the outdoors in many of her paintings.
She said living in Suwanee has had a positive impact on her art. Landscapes are van Dyck’s passion, and she pointed out that Suwanee is just a short drive to the mountains and to the beach.
Being an active member of the North Gwinnett Arts Association has been a bright spot for van Dyck and her art.
“Networking and getting to know people who share the love of arts has been wonderful,” she said.
As a member of the NGAA, she participated in the organization’s Plein Air events where the rights to one of her paintings of Suwanee’s community garden were purchased by the board of directors. The painting now hangs in Suwanee City Hall. For more information, go to carolvandyck.com.
I love her work. So glad she’s getting recognition.