Carol Spencer Finds Inspiration in Others

When life gets tough, Anderson Artists Guild member Carol Spencer deals with it. Cancer, divorce, job loss, the deaths of her father and twin sister—she’s handled it all with the same determination to move forward.

She and her second husband, an electrical engineer, have moved several times for his job, including stops in Tennessee and Charleston before they settled in Anderson two years ago. In Tennessee, Spencer worked as a medical biller, a job she loved, but the job market was tougher in Charleston, and these days she’s enjoying retirement.

Her artistic exploration as a self-described late bloomer has included watercolors, oils, pastels, acrylic, and more. “I haven’t found the real thing yet,” she said.

She has an affinity for drawing in pencil and in ink and has done portraits for friends and sold an oil painting of a dog. She mostly paints now, though, using free images from sources like Pixabay for inspiration. The medium is determined by the subject—watercolor for flowers, oil or acrylic for scenery. She finds pastels the easiest to work with.

She watches acrylic artist Jerry Yarnell’s show, Paint This, every Friday at three o’clock, amazed in particular at his ability to paint very thin lines. And she has challenged herself to loosen up. “My problem is I’m too detailed,” she said. “I have to let go. I haven’t done that yet.”

One way she gets inspired is through weekly gatherings at the Anderson Arts Center, where she paints with a group. “You learn from other people or they give new insights like this new website. They’re excited about it. It’s exciting to talk to other artists that like to do what you do.”