Workhouse Artist Carol Iglesias Named Artist-In-Residence In Dinan, France

Before she knows it, pastel artist Carol Iglesias will be up early and scouting for painting scenes in Dinan, France. Picture it: the River Rance darkly passing through the medieval town and someone on a bicycle has a loaf of French bread under their arm. 

"The French love artists," Carol told Patch on Monday from the Workhouse. "When I was in Provance, I had a crowd behind me and they were so quiet I didn't notice them as I painted. It was only after I took a break that I noticed all these people around me, and a funny little Frenchman came up to me and said: 'Don't ever stop painting!'"

Carol, a pastel painter who focuses on rural, colorful architecture, is the fifth Workhouse Arts Center alum chosen to be an artist in residence at the l’Atelier d’Artiste de Grande Vigne in Dinan, France. Her residency will be held the entire month of April, 2012.  

"I like to get started around 9:00 in the morning, walk around and get a feel of where I am and then something will hit me and I'll find my spot," Carol said. "And then I'll work from about 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. After that the light gets flat."

A Montreal, Quebec, native, Carol moved with her parents to Washington State when she was in third grade. "I've been drawing since I was five, since I was holding crayons. I've always known what I wanted to do," she said. 

Carol became a U.S. citizen at 15, and studied fine arts at Olympic College and the New School of Visual Concepts . After school, she married Jose Iglesias, and the pair moved four times before settling in Ashville, North Carolina. 

In Ashville, Carol left art for eight years and founded her own media consulting firm "Visual Imagery, Inc.", and designed programs and events for Fortune 500 Companies. Then, about 18 years ago, Jose got a job with Dell and the family moved out to Locust Grove, Va., where they remain. The couple have a 17-year-old daughter, Anna, who is currently studying her junior year in the Netherlands. 

Carol was juried into the Workhouse when it opened four years ago. She recently left her studio after the hour-long commute proved too demanding. As an associate member, she still hangs art in the main gallery.

"About six years ago my mentor, Jane Wallis, introduced me to soft pastels, which is mostly all I ever paint with now," said Carol, who for the last several years, has painted with Wallis in France, Italy and Glacier National Park. "The trips are usually with about 15 other artists and we go for 16 days. It's a challenge, but with Glacier National Park I was worried about painting mountains. I don't have that problem anymore. Did that."

Carol Iglesias' art ranges from $1,200 to $3,600. She has held shows in Maryland, Virginia, Puerto Rico, Georgia, California and Vermont. "I can't wait for this trip," she said. "I'm most productive when I'm happy. Some artists paint when they're stressed. I have to be able to get in the zone."