Brown brings old photos to life

Carol Brown finishes an oil painting in her studio in Dimock. STAFF PHOTO/PAT FARNELLI

BY PAT FARNELLI

Carol Brown is one of the most prolific painters you will find on the Artists’ Open House Tour, and one of the most enterprising as well.

Unlike many artists who barely make enough to purchase their paints and brushes, Brown has a knack for paintings that appeal to the eye, and that sell well, too.

In her Tea Time Studio on Route 29 in Dimock, Brown has a wide array of wares, from painted china to miniature oils to larger works of art. She often works on commission, and has painted an ornament selected for George W. and Laura Bush’s White House Christmas Tree.

She uses a combination of oil paint and powdered pigment to do china painting, which is then fired.

One of her favorite structures to paint is the Nicholson Bridge, and it is featured in many artworks in her studio. She is currently doing paintings for Mazar’s Bridgeview Restaurant in Nicholson, including a portrait of the building from an earlier era. She painted the restaurants large outdoor sign, which features the bridge with a steam train.

She has a large filing system filled with photos and historical pictures of Susquehanna and Wyoming County, which she uses for reference.

It is amazing to see what Brown can do with a black and white photo, recreating lighting and color, even accurately depicting a garden.

Brown learned oil painting from her great aunt Lena Egg, who was an accomplished artist and teacher, as well as a circus acrobat. In the studio hang clippings showing her aunt holding up her husband, a 220 pound trapeze artist, as he dangles above a circus ring.

“She was 67 years old in that picture,” Brown says. Remarkably, her aunt was known for her patient, placid disposition, and was a great teacher.

Brown grew up in New Jersey, and moved to Brooklyn, Pa., after she was married. Her three boys went to the Brooklyn schoolhouse, and she and her husband Bob restored a 14-room abandoned farmhouse from top to bottom. 25 years ago, the couple moved to Dimock.

Since she retired from her job as executive secretary, her production has greatly increased, and she is making a profit at art, especially in commissioned work.

Brown’s studio is part of the self-guided tour on Oct. 9-11, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The tour is free, and all artists will have work for sale in their studios.