Carol Schulz received her first formal art training as an undergraduate at Northern Illinois University.  After continued education in non-arts fields (two Master’s Degrees and a Ph.D.), she became an award-winning university professor teaching Anthropology at Alfred University in NY State.  She then moved into the private sector and rose to Vice President of an international corporation in high-technology, research, and engineering.  There, she managed many R&D programs in health services research and hospital meditronics.
 

Upon their retirement from full-time employment in 1991, Carol and her husband, Jim Striegel, moved to Tofino, BC, on the outer Pacific coast of Vancouver Island.  Carol once again took up the brushes in the late 1990s, but this time in a medium new to her – watercolour.  “Cover new ground throughout your life; there’s no sense in plowing the same field over and over!” 

Mostly self-taught, Carol sought out specialized training from selected, admired watercolourists, including Mark Hobson of British Columbia and Nita Engle of Michigan.  An impressionist at heart, Carol uses bold colours and melds together diverse techniques to accomplish her work.  “Do what works.  And, paint what YOU and YOUR AUDIENCE enjoy!  Nature is beautiful; make it so.”

Carol began exhibiting in local art galleries and shows in Tofino in 2000.  In 2003, her husband (a writer, nature photographer, waterfowl carver, and artist in his own right) started producing prints of her works.  Carol now has over 120 images in print, available through their own company, Tofino Arts.  She has completed over 1500 original paintings, with a sell-rate of 90 percent.  “I believe Tofino is one of the four or five most beautiful places on earth and I consider myself fortunate to have found it.”

Occasionally, Carol teaches one-on-one sessions to selected adults in her home studio, by appointment.  Currently, she paints mostly on commission.  She has taught several group workshops on Vancouver Island and at Dillman’s Resort in Wisconsin.
 

Carol can be contacted and her original paintings and signed, archival prints can be purchased by e-mail through the CONTACT page.