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Paintings and Fine Art |
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Carrie Baxter is a Midwest-based artist, originally from northwest Illinois and now also working in central Indiana. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Painting, graduating Summa Cum Laude, along with a Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies from Northern Illinois University (DeKalb, Illinois). Carrie is the Gallery Coordinator for the Indiana University Kokomo Art Gallery. Her work has been exhibited in juried and group exhibitions throughout North America and is included in the permanent collection of the Encaustic Art Museum (Santa Fe, New Mexico).
Carrie’s paintings draw inspiration from elements of nature, exploring the relationship between memory, perception, and the natural environment. Through layered surfaces, textures, and subtle shifts in tone and detail, she creates works that invite both visual and tactile curiosity. The ridges, grooves, and dimensional surfaces of her paintings can provoke the impulse to reach out and touch, while the conventions of viewing art remind us to resist that impulse. This tension between desire and restraint creates an intimate encounter between the artwork and the viewer, encouraging a heightened awareness of perception, sensation, and the boundaries between looking and experiencing. |
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Artist Statement
My encaustic paintings explore the delicate and often complicated relationship between humans and the natural world. Using molten beeswax mixed with pigment, I apply multiple layers of translucent and semi-translucent wax, fusing each one with heat. This process creates a sense of depth and atmosphere, allowing colors and textures to visually merge—evoking the layered complexity of the environment itself.
The subject matter of my work draws from natural forms and patterns, referencing landscapes, ecosystems, and organic structures. I am especially interested in the ways humans interact with the environment—how we live among other life forms, and how our presence, whether intentional or not, leaves a lasting impact. Nature is both powerful and resilient, yet it bears the imprint of human influence even in our absence. Through this work, I aim to invite quiet reflection on our shared responsibility to the world we inhabit and the interconnectedness of all living things.
My artistic practice is inspired by open spaces and elements of the natural world, and I love translating them into textured surfaces that activate psychological tension within the viewer. By constructing paintings that evoke an almost irresistible tactile response, my work challenges the conventions of art viewing. The ridges, grooves, and layered textures provoke a desire to touch, while the social contract of the gallery space demands restraint. This friction between sensory impulse and social expectation situates my work within a dialogue about the embodied experience of art, blurring the boundary between visual and haptic perception. - Carrie Baxter
The subject matter of my work draws from natural forms and patterns, referencing landscapes, ecosystems, and organic structures. I am especially interested in the ways humans interact with the environment—how we live among other life forms, and how our presence, whether intentional or not, leaves a lasting impact. Nature is both powerful and resilient, yet it bears the imprint of human influence even in our absence. Through this work, I aim to invite quiet reflection on our shared responsibility to the world we inhabit and the interconnectedness of all living things.
My artistic practice is inspired by open spaces and elements of the natural world, and I love translating them into textured surfaces that activate psychological tension within the viewer. By constructing paintings that evoke an almost irresistible tactile response, my work challenges the conventions of art viewing. The ridges, grooves, and layered textures provoke a desire to touch, while the social contract of the gallery space demands restraint. This friction between sensory impulse and social expectation situates my work within a dialogue about the embodied experience of art, blurring the boundary between visual and haptic perception. - Carrie Baxter
