Throughout December, the Gallery will be presenting the paintings of Carrie Williams in an exhibit called Diaphaneity: Ethereal Portals; Studies of Survival.

This selection of oil and watercolor paintings is born of internal resolution and rebirth. Each piece speaks to a time in Carrie’s life during which she faced a crossroads or a new beginning.

The landscape has always spoken to me. The shifting sky, the way light bends after a storm, the quiet resilience of a tree rooted against the wind. Nature is my solace and my church. It is here where I return, again and again, to paint what I cannot always put into words. As my main medium, oil painting lets me sink into the richness of the landscape, infusing it in layers: the smell, the weight, the slow unfolding of texture. The use of watercolor originated during a season of illness, when I needed a means in which to express myself that was immediate, light and tranquil. I handle watercolor much the way I do the oils, laying down pigments which are thick and opaque, while pushing the colors past their fragility and into strength.

These works are born during a season of survival and renewal. My experience has taught me not to hold back, but to allow color to storm across a surface, to say “yes” more often, and to ultimately honor the urgency of life. Some pieces carry the looming shadow of fear, while others blaze with the vivid energy of celebration.

In the end, these paintings are not just my stories. Each landscape is the opening of an ethereal portal in which others may find their own meaning, face their own silent storms, and ultimately allow their own diaphanous light to break through.