Name
Carla Markwart
About
June 2023
I have been a painter all my adult life. About 6 years ago, I painted a mural on a small cinderblock wall with house paint. This was a larger version of the big paintings on paper that I was doing in my studio. Then a few building owners in town asked me to paint murals for them.
The first was in the Galesburg Commerce Center: an arrangement of 12 colors in geometric shapes. This was 10’x17’, inside the main entrance- and leading to the downtown branch of the Y.
The next one was a BIG project: the side of an art gallery and studio building called The Box. At the time, I was the president of the Galesburg Public Art Commission. We thought we should involve the public in this one, so every Saturday over the 6 week job, anyone who could hold a brush was welcome to paint a shape. My design for this 18’x80’ mural was also abstract and colorful. The basic structure was comprised of concentric circles, with straight lines bisecting them and connecting them. This design creates many varied shapes, with lots of opportunities to coordinate colors in many ways. I lost count at 35 colors! The circles, ranging from 3’ to 11’ in diameter, suggest wheels, planets, solar systems; all kinds of things. To me, it suggests motion. Abstract designs like mine are open to interpretation by the viewer- they are not limited by specific imagery. The colors and movement represent joy - sort of a visual music. The countless senior and prom pictures taken in front of the Box mural confirm to me that people are attracted to joyful art and I love being a part of it.
MFA UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA.
BFA U of I, Champaign, IL.
Resume
Awards
Lonnie Stewart Award of Excellence Galesburg Civi Art Center
Galex 50
Exhibitions
Galex 51 at Galesburg Civic Art center, Galesburg, IL
Specialties
- Painting
- drawing
- teaching