Carol Walker Aten

Portland, Maine resident Carol Walker Aten uses her photographs (iPhone and Nikon) as the base to create her (mostly) sky and water-connected landscape paintings. She’s also a little addicted to Instagram (@cw810) Raised in England, her early exposure to dynamic painter Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) as well as the foggy weather probably had some impact on her interest in light and atmospheric views. Travels with her family as well as living in a scenic part of coastal New England provide ongoing inspiration for new art. Trained at the University of Michigan School of Art, she received her BFA in painting and printmaking, and had her first solo exhibition upon graduation. She attended Boston University and graduated with a Masters of Art in Art History with a Diploma in Museum Studies. Her Master’s Thesis was on American Impressionist Gertrude Fiske (1879-1961) and she was contributing author to “Gertrude Fiske: American Master” - an exhibition of the artist at the Portsmouth Discover Center in 2018. Carol attended the Maine College of Art Continuing Studies program, studying with Cumberland painter Diane Dahlke.

When she is not painting or traveling, Carol provides capacity building consulting for nonprofit and education clients through organizational development, strategic planning, and facilitation work. She holds a Certificate of Nonprofit Board Education from BoardSource.  She is a graduate of Leadership New Hampshire, Leadership Seacoast, and Leadership Maine. In 2020 Carol launched Leadership Portland - a civic and community education leadership program for the city of Portland Maine https://www.leadership-portland.org