Biography
“Nature has provided me with a spiritual compass in life, and observing it and drawing it has always been, for me, the most rewarding way to honor that reverence. I believe that the knowledge gained through quiet observation, study and meditation is just as important as the actual application of paint to canvas. Rather than go out into the landscape with the notion of ‘seeking’ a painting, I find that the stronger ideas appear to me, or are given to me, when I am hiking, walking my dogs, fishing, or meditating – when I am utterly ‘present’; when I am the student, the observer, and the recipient; when I ‘listen’ rather than impose my will. I then return to the scene as a ‘hunter-gatherer’ and make numerous field studies and notes before I develop the piece in the studio. For me a painting should be evidence of a process of observation and acquired knowledge rather than a concluding statement. The process, not the product, is the closest I have come to ‘living life’ in its truest sense.
My work explores the dialogue between abstraction and realism, and I enjoy that ‘dance’ or ‘tension’. As I keep reminding my students, artists should think of themselves as poets rather than journalists. I want to say something ‘specific’ about my reaction to a place or a moment in time – to capture the essence but not the whole. I process any idea through analyzing it in terms of shapes of abstract color rather than content. Certain elements will be eliminated totally and others exaggerated to achieve that goal. I particularly enjoy taking something ordinary or incidental and creating an iconic image of it that celebrates nature and challenges the viewer to be more observant of their surroundings.”
Originally from London, England, Jill Carver moved to the United States fourteen years ago. Before becoming a full time professional artist, she was a curatorial research assistant at the National Portrait Gallery in London for 12 years. Jill currently divides her time between Austin, Texas, and Rico, Colorado.
A ‘painter’s painter’, recognition for her work has come quickly. In 2014, she won the Gold Medal (Artists’ Choice) for Best in Show at Maynard Dixon Country and in the same year was inaugurated as Signature Member in ‘Plein Air Painters of America’. Previously, she won numerous awards including: ‘Artists Choice’ at the Laguna Beach Invitational in 2009; at Telluride, also in 2009; and, at Plein Air Easton in 2008. She has participated in the prestigious Maynard Dixon Country event for five consecutive years and the Artistic Horizons show in Bozeman, MT, for three years. She is a popular and highly regarded teacher.
Affiliations: Signature Member – Plein Air Painters of America
Publications:
Feature length article, ‘Art of the West, May/June 2015
Feature length article, ‘Plein Air Magazine’, Summer 2011
Feature length article, ‘Southwest Art’, June 2010 – to view
‘Fine Art Connoisseur’, Sept/Oct 2010, named by editor Peter Trippi as ‘Artist to Watch’
Awards:
2014, Gold Medal for Best in Show (Artists’ Choice), Maynard Dixon Country
2009 ‘Artists’ Choice’, Laguna Beach Invitational
2009 1st Place, Telluride
2009 Best Architectural Painting, Plein Air Easton
2008 ‘Artists’ Choice’ and Vasari ‘Award of Excellence’, Sedona Plein Air Invitational
2008 ‘Artists’ Choice’, San Luis Obispo,
2008 ‘Artists’ Choice’ and ‘Honorable Mention’, Plein Air Easton
2008 2nd Place Telluride Plein Air
2008 ‘Artists’ Choice’, Outdoor Painters Society Annual Show, Dallas
2007 ‘Best in Show’, Estes Park Plein Air 2007, Painting the Parks
2007 Museum Purchase, Plein Air Easton
2007 Judge’s Honorable Mention for Artistic Excellence, Salon International, Greenhouse Gallery
2006 SourceTek Award of Merit, Estes Park Painting the Parks
2006 Jury’s Top 50 Award, Salon International, Greenhouse Gallery
Selected Solo Shows:
2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 Wally Workman Gallery
2004, 2006 Chez Zee, Austin, Texas
2003 The Gallery at Spicewood, Texas
2001-2002 New Zealand Embassy, Haymarket, London
Selected Group Shows:
2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 Invited Artist, Maynard Dixon Country
2012 Three Person Show with Tim Cherry and Louis McElwain, Insight Gallery
2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 Insight Gallery (‘Texas Masters’, ‘Fall Show’, ‘Small Works Show’)
2009 Guest Artist, Maynard Dixon Country.
2010, 2009 Laguna Beach Invitational
2009, 2007, 2006 Salon International, Greenhouse Gallery of Art, San Antonio
2010, 2009, 2008 Telluride Plein Air
2010, 2009, 2008, 2007 Plein Air Easton
2009, 2008, 2007 Natural World Observed (Dallas, Omaha, Duluth)
2008 Sedona Plein Air Festval
2008 San Luis Obispo Plein Air Festival
2008 Plein Air Texas, Outdoor Painters Society, South West Gallery, Dallas 2007, 2006 Estes Park Painting the Parks
2006, 2005 Austin Fine Arts Festival, Texas
2006, 2008 Wally Workman Gallery
2005 Showcase, State Capitol, Austin, Texas
2005 Showcase at Laguna Gloria (Night in the Gallery), Austin, Texas
2004 FACET, Austin, Texas
2004 Plein Air Austin, Spring Show at the Spicewood Vineyards, Texas
2003 The Bunkhouse Gallery, Texas
2003 The Spicewood Vineyard
Museum Collections:
Academy Art Museum, Easton, MD