Photo by Donald R. Winslow

Perched atop a drifting kayak, one foot dangling in the green water of Lady Bird Lake, Jill Carver adds colors to her canvas in rich oil brushstroke. Slowly, she builds her picture in depth and feeling – a portrait of a hot and languid Central Texas summer, from the water to the rocky wooded shore.

“The best views are of water,” she said. “You get those from a bridge or by getting out into it.”

For the 40-year-old Carver, painting is all about learning to see. Every brushstroke conveys a direct, intentional observation.

“What satisfies me as an artist is being able to sum up the character of a place as simply as possible,” she said. “I edit what I see down to its essence, so that it speaks to people. I want each painting to be an honest expression of my own reaction to that place.”

Her work is a balance between abstraction and realism, she said. Her paintings have an immediate emotional impact, but when observed close up, they dissolve into a series of powerful brushstrokes clearly and confidently added to the canvas.

Through her art, Carver tries to remind people of a simple truth in life – that the land is a part of all of us and that our modern way of life is ultimately dependent on it. She agrees with Edward Abbey’s belief that wilderness is a spiritual necessity that eases the high pressures of life and that nature is a way to achieve equilibrium.

“If my work can convey a sense of calm, awe or joy and provide moments of serenity, silence or pause, then I will have succeeded – I will have passed my passion on to others,” she said.

Carver was born in Bedfordshire, England, and spent her childhood moving around the country. She began her art career at age three, when her father primed the walls of their home in preparation for painting. The huge floor-to-ceiling blank white canvases were too much of a temptation for the young artist, and she took out her box of crayons and began to fill them with art.

“I noticed when I was about 7 that art centered me,” Carver said. “If I didn’t paint or draw at least once every two days, I would become a bit of a witch.”

After university, Carver worked at the National Portrait Gallery in London as a bit of an art detective, researching historical portraits that had lost their identity or verifying their artistry. She took a one-year sabbatical to paint in 2001, living in a van in the South Island of New Zealand. There she confirmed her desire to paint full time.

She moved to Austin in 2002 with husband, Larry Carver, director of the Liberal Arts Honors Program at the University of Texas. The artist recently became a dual citizen of England and the U.S.

Carver has quickly established herself in Texas, becoming well-known for her renderings of the Texas Hill Country and the Big Bend region, as well as Colorado, California, Wyoming, Idaho, Arizona and Utah.

In June, the editors of “Southwest Art Magazine” listed her as one of their 10 artists to watch in 2009. Last year, the Art Academy Museum in Easton, Md., purchased two of her paintings for its permanent collection.

Carver’s other recent awards include first place in the 2009 Telluride Plein Air competition, best architectural painting in the 2009 Plein Air Easton competition, artists’ choice in the 2008 Sedona Invitational Plein Air Festival, artist’s choice in the San Luis Obispo Plein Air competition and artist’s choice and honorable mention in the 2008 Plein Air Easton competition.

Carver is currently in the throes of packing for a long road trip. She will soon be loading up her Toyota Tundra with all her canvases, painting supplies, teaching supplies and her two rescue dogs – Mungo and Tess. The trio will hit the road, bound for Rico, Colo., where Carver owns a cabin and will be teaching a five-day workshop.

“We will be painting full color on location,” she said. “That is really my thing – effective color on location.”

From Colorado, Carver and her canine muses will head to the Laguna Beach Invitational in California. Then it is back to Sedona, Ariz., for Carver, where she will teach another five-day workshop and participate in the Sedona Invitational.

“It is a good example of an artist’s schedule,” she said. “It ain’t fun, and it ain’t easy. Anyone who thinks we artists sit around in our studio waiting on a muse to appear should have another think coming.”

After so much time spent teaching and painting, does Carver think artistic talent is born or bred?

“That’s a bit tricky,” she said. “I can tell you this. I think that, if you have genetic talent, the difference between an amateur and professional is about 10,000 hours. You have to have talent to be great. Passion is also critical. If you don’t wake up every morning wanting to do this every day, I can’t teach you that.”

More of Carver’s work can be viewed on her Web site at jillcarver.com. Look for a local showing of her work at the Wally Workman Gallery in October 2010.