Instructor Profiles
When asked what would surprise others about you, she quickly responded, “that I am a world traveler.”
Meet Carol Liz Fynn - by Lynn Lothman
Carol Liz has been teaching watercolor techniques to Olli students for two years. Her second career follows a dedicated and illustrious career in secondary education. As a young girl, Carol knew she was an artist. She has been a master watercolorist for twenty-five years but has loved art as far back as she can remember. Finding satisfaction and mastery in watercolor simply takes the will to do it and a strong teacher who is directive and stresses technique. An ideal student is one who can take instruction and hold a steady hand. “I taught my mother to paint when she was 80. She found great joy in creating with paper, paint, and brush. Her finished paintings were amongst her most prized possessions.”
When asked what would surprise others about you, she quickly responded, “that I am a world traveler.” Carol Liz’s love for art and her passion for travel complement each other exquisitely. She was just a young woman, fresh out of college, when she took two years off and visited 42 different countries. She has led 33 groups of adolescents and adults abroad to discover new and different places and along the way, themselves. She has travelled Europe, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Swaziland, Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Ecuador, the Amazon basin, and the Galapagos Islands. (I’m sure I’ve missed a few!) “It gave me a broader perspective of life and a new appreciation of differences, both of which are helpful and have made me a more complete artist.” When asked which countries were most memorable she quickly responded that Egypt made an impression as did Zimbabwe. Egypt felt like stepping back in time, climbing atop a camel and riding out into the desert, the sand and grit penetrating every pore and the sound of the wind and the camel’s breathing the only sound. It must be the same as it was 2000 years ago. Zimbabwe, a country of immense beauty, resource and wildlife, created wonderful memories despite the deplorable conditions of its people.
Carol Liz continues to hone her skills. She is learning acrylics, shows her works locally in various venues, and teaches, here at OLLI, in other venues and abroad. She has held three workshops in Europe in 2013 alone. Ambitions for the future? Carol has plans to complete her illustrations for the children’s book she has written and create a video teaching watercolor painting. But her greatest joy lies in using her skills to develop talent and skill in others so they can discover the delight of painting.
When asked what would surprise others about you, she quickly responded, “that I am a world traveler.” Carol Liz’s love for art and her passion for travel complement each other exquisitely. She was just a young woman, fresh out of college, when she took two years off and visited 42 different countries. She has led 33 groups of adolescents and adults abroad to discover new and different places and along the way, themselves. She has travelled Europe, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Swaziland, Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Ecuador, the Amazon basin, and the Galapagos Islands. (I’m sure I’ve missed a few!) “It gave me a broader perspective of life and a new appreciation of differences, both of which are helpful and have made me a more complete artist.” When asked which countries were most memorable she quickly responded that Egypt made an impression as did Zimbabwe. Egypt felt like stepping back in time, climbing atop a camel and riding out into the desert, the sand and grit penetrating every pore and the sound of the wind and the camel’s breathing the only sound. It must be the same as it was 2000 years ago. Zimbabwe, a country of immense beauty, resource and wildlife, created wonderful memories despite the deplorable conditions of its people.
Carol Liz continues to hone her skills. She is learning acrylics, shows her works locally in various venues, and teaches, here at OLLI, in other venues and abroad. She has held three workshops in Europe in 2013 alone. Ambitions for the future? Carol has plans to complete her illustrations for the children’s book she has written and create a video teaching watercolor painting. But her greatest joy lies in using her skills to develop talent and skill in others so they can discover the delight of painting.
