Carol Hagan

BILLINGS, MT

Carol is self-taught as an artist. She did not have formal art training, with the exception of taking two workshops with the late Joe Abbrescia, whom she considers to be one of her mentors. She has worked hard to develop her own style of expressing herself on paper and canvas. She has been referred to as a Contemporary Expressionist, and a Colorist. Her paintings are a contemporary expression of her subject matter, both through her choices of vibrant color, and even the use of very little color, yet more gestural lines, and the textures and marks that she makes. “I have always drawn my inspiration from the incredible views, skies, colors and landscapes of the West. My passion for horses, and my love for the animals and wildlife that make Montana and the West their home, are truly my inspirations, and what I feel compelled to paint.”

Spending much of her life in Montana has allowed Carol to nurture a deep love of the American West. She is constantly in awe of its raw, spectacular beauty and grand vistas, rolling grassy hills and stunning mountains, and that animals that inhabit this incredible place. She has loved horses for as far back as she can remember. She particularly enjoys trying to capture the fluidity of their graceful, forceful forms and movements in her paintings, through brushstrokes, marks, texture, and color. “Horses are old souls. The quiet exchange of positive energy and communication that takes place just from standing next to a horse, or within a group of horses, is simply extraordinary. They hold within them a silent calm, yet a powerful sense of acceptance, grace, wisdom, and strength.”

Carol’s paintings are now in private and corporate collections across the United States and the world. Her work is currently represented in fine galleries and select museum shows. Just a few of the shows she has had the distinct honor of participating in over the years include the C.M. Russell Art Auction, the Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale, “The Russell: An Exhibition and Sale to benefit the C.M. Russell Museum”, The Desert Caballeros Western Museum’s “Cowgirl Up” Show, the Western Masters Art Show & Sale, the Yellowstone Art Museum’s Art Auction, the Settler’s West Galleries’ “American Miniatures Show”, the Legacy Gallery’s Miniatures Show, the Nature Conservancy’s “Montana Masterpieces Show”, the Hockaday Museum’s Miniatures Show, and the Brinton Museum’s invitational Small Works Show.