The Firehouse Arts Center is excited to present the solo exhibition of Carolyn Lord, Valley Vernacular. This exhibition features approximately 20 of the artist’s signature landscapes, architectural studies, and botanical paintings. Known for her work in watercolor and oil, this presentation reflects Lord’s artistic lineage of tonalism and impressionism. Playing with the depiction light and allowing the human mind to fill in the details suggested in her precise yet bare forms, this collection embodies the artist’s lifelong study of her surroundings, in particular, the visual vernacular of the Tri-Valley.

Carolyn Lord

Southern California native Carolyn Lord learned plein air watercolor painting and received a B.A. in Studio Arts from Principia College, Illinois in 1978.  She returned to California, established her art career, and has lived in Livermore since 1980. Whether home or traveling, she is inspired to paint the local landscape, architecture, and gardens. Recently, Lord has continued her art education through art history lectures, anatomy, and drawing classes at Golden Gate Atelier in Oakland. Carolyn Lord has been a perennial exhibitor at the City of Pleasanton’s Firehouse Art Center since it opened in 2010. Her watercolors and oils have been regularly included in “Fresh Works,” the Harrington Gallery’s annual open, juried show. Lord’s paintings included in other shows: “Rails Connect,” “Transitions: The Beauty of Life’s Journey,” the California Art Club’s “Bay Area Parks: Outdoor Treasures,” and the California Watercolor Association Annual National Exhibitions. She has also presented in the mezzanine-level Nancy Thompson Memorial Gallery. Most recently is “Valley Vernacular,” her solo show in Firehouse Art Center’s ground floor lobby. Other 2024 career highlights include Sonoma Plein Air Festival, a solo exhibition at Piedmont Center for the Arts, a group shows at Hilbert Museum of California Art, New Museum Los Gatos, Fallbrook Art Center, Carnegie Art Center, Springfield Art Museum, MO, and teaching painting workshops in Berkeley, Pasadena, Denver, CO, Whidbey Island, WA. Her paintings are represented at galleries in Santa Rosa, Carmel, Fallbrook, CA; Mt. Carmel, UT; Crested Butte, CO.