Carolyn Reid knew when she was 8 years old that she would be an artist.

This primary desire manifested in creating drawings and found her wanting to become an architect.

In time, she says, " I found my way to creating fine art and to another love of mine, teaching."

A longtime Colorado resident, Carolyn grew up near Boston. The oceanfront and stone walls influence some of her artworks.

Other influences are the Denver Botanic Gardens with its pavilions and trees, a strong passion for and involvement in ballroom dancing and the Denver dance community, travel in Scotland, and the old building facades in downtown Denver.

"My dad I would describe as a banker/painter/gardener/ fisherman/dancer and my mum, a sociable homemaker/ gardener/banker/dancer. I was greatly influenced by my father's continual painting. Seems the smell of turpentine always meant home."

Carolyn has a BS/BA from Colorado State University and a Master of Fine Arts with Honor in Drawing and Painting from the University of Denver.

She has taught at the University of Denver and Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design. Her art work has been featured in national and international shows and is in private international collections.

Several paintings have been commissioned by Marriott Hotels in New York and California.

Her oil paintings and drawings are usually done in contemporary realism and often done in a series.

Carolyn's themes include dancers, gardens, facades, interiors, pavilions, gardens, piers, pier pilings, folding screens and tree portraits.