Biography

Swayze started painting when she was 8 years old and did her first
outdoor art show, The Allentown Art Festival in Buffalo, NY, when
she was 14. She worked her way through high school painting and
selling her work at shows as well as starting her own commercial art
business painting signs, logos, designing album covers for bands and
backdrops for theaters in the area. After two years in the Fine Arts
Department of York University in Toronto, Ontario, she continued her
artistic studies at The Ringling School of Art & Design, in Sarasota,
Florida, and moved south where she studied painting and
printmaking.
After college she started working in oils, moved on to India inks, then
watercolors and finally acrylics. Soon after moving to Florida, she
bought her first etching press and started working in Intaglio Etching
Hand Painted with Acrylic washes. At that time the outdoor art fair

circuit was young and thriving and the American economy was
healthy. With a full show schedule and monthly gallery orders, being
a real printmaker allowed her to maintain her artistic integrity and
continue to offer original art to the public.
Swayze believes in original art. “As artists, our solitary natures find us
spending a great deal of time alone in our studios working to create
new and exciting artwork while striving to maintain our own
individual styles. I believe that the independent artist who toils to
create original art in their studio is special, unique, and unusual and
should be protected, nurtured and supported as treasures. Artists are
thinkers and dreamers and I believe their work enriches the lives of
everyone who meets them.”
Swayze has always lived by the beach, surfing, fishing, diving, and
snorkeling. She was raised to understand that we are the caretakers
of our fragile environment. She has always been passionate about
the ocean. Her subject matter reflects her love of the sea. She has
maintained her studio in Englewood/Boca Grande area for over 40
years now and has developed a good reputation as a fine artist being
very involved in all aspects of art in her community.
She was on the steering committee, which saved, restored, and
created The Hermitage Artists Retreat, an international artist’s retreat
connected to the Greenfield Foundation, in what was her mother’s
old house on the beach. She was on the board of directors of the
Englewood Art Center when they raised the money to expand and
build what has become one of the most vibrant community art
centers in the area, now operated by the Ringling School of Art &
Design.
Swayze was chosen as one of ten North American artists to
participate in the first ever outdoor art festival in Japan, the
Yokohama International Open-Air Art Fair in Yokohama, Japan, in
October of 2009 and experienced an amazing cultural exchange that
enriched her life immensely.
Swayze was granted an artist’s residency on Seahorse Key (April
2016) sponsored by the Cedar Key Art Center and the University of
Florida Marine Lab which culminated in a month long one man show
at the Cedar Key Art Center. 
She taught art to the home-schooled children of three counties. She
currently teaches an adult fun art class for beginners where they

experiment with many different medias in the hope of finding one
that feels good to the students, so they will continue to create art.
Her well known Kids Art Adventure Camp happens every summer
where Swayze teaches art to the children in her community.  She
sponsors many programs in the schools and in her studio to help
keep original art alive and she is honored to have a scholarship
named for her in the local high school, Lemon Bay High, sponsored
by the Englewood Rotary Club.
Swayze just retired as the Chairman of the Board of Directors and the
Communications Director of the National Association of Independent
Artists, a trade organization whose mission is to strengthen, improve
and promote the artistic, professional, and economic success of
artists who exhibit in art shows. They are committed to integrity,
creativity, and the pursuit of excellence and they advocate for the
highest ideals and practices within all aspects of the art show
environment.  She wrote and published a book called How to Run the
Best Art Show and she remains on the Advisory Board of Directors of
the NAIA.
Swayze recently published two coloring books with her images in
them.  One has her original poems, and one is a cookbook/coloring
book and includes her great family recipes.
Swayze is the director and producer of three small boutique style
invitational art festivals in the Englewood/Boca Grande area where
she hand picks a select group of original artists to come to Florida
and exhibit and sell their work.
The Swayze Studio is a 5-acre eclectic piece of Old Florida and Carroll
Swayze welcomes visitors throughout the year to her property to
relax, enjoy original art and live music. She has a stage on the
studio property and hosts music and art events throughout the
season.  She is a supporter of live music and the artists who create it
(especially blues) and contributes to the musical arts as often as she
can. 
Carroll Swayze is 66 years old, she is well-traveled, and has raised
three sons, has four grandchildren and one great-grandson. She has
been a working artist her entire life and she has an enormous
amount of life experience that she is proud to share. She is well-
spoken, and not at all afraid to speak in public. Swayze’s seen the
early years of the art show movement, and with 52 years of outdoor

art shows under her belt, she’s pretty sure she could win Survivor if
they’d just let her play because she knows she can build a dry shelter
with her eyes shut. She has experienced the ups and downs of the
economy over the years, and she has struggled to stay the course,
maintaining good work ethics and standards along the way. Swayze
believes that art is important in everyday life, and she strives to
continue the adventure.