"W

ater has always fascinated me, whether in

natural or man-made bodies, says Carmella

Jarvi. Born and raised in the Piedmont region of the

beautiful state of North Carolina, she says the landscape

definitely impacted her work. Growing up, she spent

many hours at her grandparents' lake house, as well

as time at the beach and in the mountains. Currently,

she paints water--such as waterfalls and fountains--

found in the landscape. Says Carmella, I love realism.

I'm drawn to color mixing and the illusion of depth.

My work could be called 'impressionistic realism'. It is

becoming more abstracted and painterly as I move from

pastel paintings of photos and live models to painting

'water in landscape' with acrylics and oils."

Observation from life and other artists' work inspire

and challenge her. On the technical end, she has spent

a number of years studying life, which she defines as

"water and the human form," while painting from her

photos. For pool paintings, "I shoot a number of photos

with my underwater camera, goggles and weight belt.

Back in my studio, I surround myself with images and

paint with different materials while listening to a wide

variety of music."

For her efforts, her first big moment was winning

First Place in the Watercolor Society of North Carolina's

1995 Juried Exhibition'. Another milestone was when

she was awarded a 2000-2001 Regional Artist Project

Grant for her "figures in water" work. For 2006, she

has been selected to be a painting resident at Vermont

Studio Center in Johnson, VT. Carmella says, This

residency is a turning point for my work. Among other

wonderful things, it's located right on the Gihon River!"

Carmella has been painting with soft pastels for years,

starting with Rembrandt and now, Unison. "I've tried

a number of pastel products and my favorite combina-