Carolyn Epperly

Transparent watercolor is my passion. Years ago I took a watercolor workshop thinking it would be an avenue to learning the nuances of color. It did not take me long experimenting with the brilliant color and its fluidity for me to realize I had found my media.


Portfolio:

Reflecting on Reflections

I have painted in transparent watercolor for over 30 years. The medium has allowed me to depict every day moments in a dramatic way. The pure white of the paper with the translucence of color produces an effect not found in any other medium.
In this series, I am maintaining the transparency of watercolor, but challenging the idea that it is a delicate medium. My chosen subjects all focus on reflective surfaces asking the viewer to take a journey through a complicated image of many layers. I expect the viewer to ask, what is reflection and what is reality? Many people react with the statement "I did not know you could do that with watercolor!"
Explore these images slowly. The more carefully you look, the more you will discover.

Nevermore! “Nevermore!”

The Edgar Allen Poe room at the University of Virginia. Reflecting the campus, the view allows you to see into the room and out of the far wall window. The raven, of course, is the poet's own symbol.

SoHo “SoHo”

This is an interpretation of reflections viewed on a New York street corner. It features my husband and my three daughters. My family appears in most of my paintings.
In painting layers of images in a reflection, the images overlap. The transparency of the medium allows each level of the reflection to be deciphered. In the case of this painting, the large glass windows reflected each other, the street and figures moving through at various distances from each other.