Carroll Swayze

Carroll Swayze has been an independent artist her entire life. Her mother, Ruth Swayze, was a writer who wrote the television show “Taxi” among other notable projects.  She owned a coffeehouse in the 60’s and her step-father, John Lund, was a teacher, actor & theater director.

Swayze started painting when she was 8 years old and did her first outdoor art show, The Allentown Art Festival in Buffalo, NY, when she was 14. She worked her way through high school painting and selling her work at shows as well as starting her own commercial art business painting signs, logos, designing album covers for bands and backdrops for theaters in the area. After two years in the Fine Arts Department of York University in Toronto, Ontario, she continued her artistic studies at The Ringling School of Art & Design, in Sarasota, Florida, and moved south where she studied painting and printmaking.

After college she started working in oils, moved on to India inks, then watercolors and finally acrylics. Soon after moving to Florida, she bought her first etching press and started working in Intaglio Etching Hand Painted with Acrylic washes. At that time the outdoor art fair circuit was young and thriving and the American economy was healthy. With a full show schedule and monthly gallery orders, being a real printmaker allowed her to maintain her artistic integrity and continue to offer original art to the public.

Swayze believes in original art. “As artists, our solitary natures find us spending a great deal of time alone in our studios working to create new and exciting artwork while striving to maintain our own individual styles. I believe that the independent artist who toils to create original art in their studio is special, unique, and unusual and should be protected, nurtured and supported as treasures. Artists are thinkers and dreamers and I believe their work enriches the lives of everyone who meets them.”

Swayze has always lived by the beach, surfing, fishing, diving, and snorkeling. She was raised to understand that we are the caretakers of our fragile environment. She has always been passionate about the ocean. Her subject matter reflects her love of the sea. She has maintained her studio in Englewood/Boca Grande area for over 40 years now and has developed a good reputation as a fine artist being very involved in all aspects of art in her community.

She was on the steering committee, which saved, restored, and created The Hermitage Artists Retreat, an international artist’s retreat connected to the Greenfield Foundation, in what was her mother’s old house on the beach. She was on the board of directors of the Englewood Art Center when they raised the money to expand and build what has become one of the most vibrant community art centers in the area, now operated by the Ringling School of Art & Design.

Swayze was chosen as one of ten North American artists to participate in the first ever outdoor art festival in Japan, the Yokohama International Open-Air Art Fair in Yokohama, Japan, in October of 2009 and experienced an amazing cultural exchange that enriched her life immensely.

Swayze was granted an artist’s residency on Seahorse Key (April 2016) sponsored by the Cedar Key Art Center and the University of Florida Marine Lab which culminated in a month long one man show at the Cedar Key Art Center.

She taught art to the home-schooled children of three counties. She currently teaches an adult fun art class for beginners where they experiment with many different medias in the hope of finding one that feels good to the students, so they will continue to create art. Her well known Kids Art Adventure Camp happens every summer where Swayze teaches art to the children in her community.  She sponsors many programs in the schools and in her studio to help keep original art alive and she is honored to have a scholarship named for her in the local high school, Lemon Bay High, sponsored by the Englewood Rotary Club.

Swayze just retired as the Chairman of the Board of Directors and the Communications Director of the National Association of Independent Artists, a trade organization whose mission is to strengthen, improve and promote the artistic, professional, and economic success of artists who exhibit in art shows. They are committed to integrity, creativity, and the pursuit of excellence and they advocate for the highest ideals and practices within all aspects of the art show environment.  She wrote and published a book called How to Run the Best Art Show and she remains on the Advisory Board of Directors of the NAIA.

Swayze recently published two coloring books with her images in them.  One has her original poems, and one is a cookbook/coloring book and includes her great family recipes.

Swayze is the director and producer of three small boutique style invitational art festivals in the Englewood/Boca Grande area where she hand picks a select group of original artists to come to Florida and exhibit and sell their work.

The Swayze Studio is a 4 1/2-acre eclectic piece of Old Florida and Carroll Swayze welcomes visitors throughout the year to her property to relax, enjoy original art and live music.  She hosts music and art events throughout the season.  She is a supporter of live music and the artists who create it (especially blues) and contributes to the musical arts as often as she can.

Carroll Swayze is 67 years old, she is well-traveled, and has raised three sons, has four grandchildren and one great-grandson. She has been a working artist her entire life and she has an enormous amount of life experience that she is proud to share. She is well-spoken, and not at all afraid to speak in public. Swayze’s seen the early years of the art show movement, and with 53 years of outdoor art shows under her belt, she’s pretty sure she could win Survivor if they’d just let her play because she knows she can build a dry shelter with her eyes shut. She has experienced the ups and downs of the economy over the years, and she has struggled to stay the course, maintaining good work ethics and standards along the way. Swayze believes that art is important in everyday life, and she strives to continue the adventure.