Background
Carrie Zeidman is an eighth generation California native. Born in Anaheim, CA in 1960, she has lived all but the first few years of her life in Northern California. “Color is what brings the world to life,” Carrie explains. “I’ve always been inspired by the colors of Northern California, the bright white of a snowy egret on a field of lime green grass, the intense, golden yellow of a mustard field in bloom, the rich, juicy orange of a patch of California poppies. I’ve never felt a lack of inspirational subject matter.”

“I’ve loved creating art for as long as I can remember” says Carrie. “When I was a child I created using whatever medium I could find. I would paint watercolors and lay them out to dry on our family car, leaving colorful prints all over the hood and roof of the car.” In school she took as many art classes as were offered, trying various mediums such as ceramics, watercolors, oils, and inks. She found that she especially enjoyed the precise nature and intricacies of pointillism using pen and ink. For several years this was her style.

After receiving her associates degree in fine arts from Cabrillo College in Aptos, CA, Carrie decided on a career in graphic design. Starting in 1985 she worked as a graphic artist, designing printed materials, logos, and websites, but illustration was always her favorite thing to do. She began doing more illustration on the computer and found that she enjoyed creating her art digitally. After 20+ years in graphics, she decided to turn her full attention to creating her own art.

Her Work
Carrie’s favorite subject has always been people, especially the eyes. She enjoys capturing the personalities of the subjects and making them come to life. She also strives to incorporate dichotomy of some sort into most of her compositions. She likes to study the way that opposites affect each other within the piece and within the viewer. At times it can be conflicting emotions; at other times it may be as simple as opposite colors. She also likes to incorporate small details that may not be noticed right away, but appear as small surprises later on. So look carefully at her paintings, you may see something you didn’t notice before.

Awards
Since June of 2007 she has received:

• Second Place, 2008 FALC Fall Art Show
• Honorable Mention, 2008 FALC Fall Art Show
• Honorable Mention, 2008 MosaicGlobe Creativity Competition
• First Place, Main Street Cafe show, February 2008
• Artist of the Month for October 2007
• FALC Sponsor Award, Cupertino Fall Festival Art Show, Sept. 2007

She has also won several awards for her design work including:

• Solomon Schecter Silver Award in 2003
• United Synagogue 2002 Award for Excellence
• Communicator Award of Distinction 2001
• Golden Web Award 2001
• Communicator Award of Distinction 1999
• Solomon Schecter Gold Award 1999