Splitting her time between Hawaii and California, Carol Bennett (b. 1954) has mastered the art of capturing movement in her enigmatic paintings.
While Bennett has garnered praise for the meditative sensibility that characterizes her paintings as well as a bold use of bright colors, some of her works are more famous than others. In fact, her “Women in Water” series is perhaps her most well-known collection. As its name implies, the series features women swimming. They’re captured from an underwater perspective, and their faces are either out of frame entirely or obscured by the sun-dappled surface of the water, which serves as a showcase for Bennett’s portrayal of the qualities of sunlight. The upper half of each painting is flecked with the blues and greens of the ocean as well as whatever color the subject’s bathing suit happens to be.
The series originated with Bennett sketching swimmers at an athletic club’s pool in Los Angeles, but as her process evolved, her husband, Wayne Zebzda, began to film the artist on her daily swim on Kauai. The resultant images inform her work, but she doesn’t consider these works to be depictions of her in particular.
“I swim seven days a week, and while I don’t consider them self-portraits, I am the swimmer in the paintings,” Bennett has said.
Given her constant proximity to the ocean, it’s no surprise that Bennett is inspired by water’s glassy properties, citing its presence as both “a mirror and then a window.” Her radiant paintings, whether she’s working with oil and shellac on paper or wood panels, allow her to explore sunlight in such a rich and provocative way that it’s as if she endeavors to suspend rays of light above the water’s surface, making them seem as tangible and physical as the swimmers themselves.
Aside from her works that hang on the walls of galleries and museums around the world, Bennett has also painted murals and even a 48-foot photovoltaic solar canopy for the Hawaii State Art Museum Sculpture Garden.
Find Carol Bennett’s paintings on 1stDibs.
"Lighten Up" a woman in white bathing suit, arms outstretched, drifting
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
Canvas, Oil
$4,200
Dripping in Diamonds, Swimmer, Water, Work on board, Pastel, Shimmering, Light
By Carol Bennett
Located in Riverdale, NY
Dripping in Diamonds is a water and figurative artwork featuring swimmers in the water. It is a Pastel on archival board. It is the first time in 30 years Bennett has created artwo...
Pastel, Board
$13,200
"Cerulean" woman in red bathing suit swims to the surface of bright blue water
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
Canvas, Oil
$972Sale Price|20% Off
Female Figure Underwater Realist Etching --"Separation" by Carol Bennett
By Carol Bennett
Located in Soquel, CA
Female Figure Underwater Realist Etching --"Separation" by Carol Bennett Unique etching of a female figure submersed beneath the surface of water by California and Hawaii artist Ca...
Etching, Laid Paper
$24,000
"SUSPENSE" horizontal painting of a woman in red gliding beneath the water
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
India Ink, Oil, Acrylic, Wood Panel
$1,500
Fish Study, painting, Reverse painting on glass gold leaf, oil, cobalt, water
By Carol Bennett
Located in Riverdale, NY
Fish Study by Hawaii artist Carol Bennett is a reverse painting on glass artwork. It is Oil, Varnish, Gold Leaf and powdered Cobalt. It is 9x12. Carol Bennett's artwork is a meditative journey through both the water and through life. She is one of the few artists to truly capture what it's like to be in and moving and swimming through the water. For Carol, the act of swimming underwater is similar to the process of painting. Her approach results in multi-layered surfaces that are intricate and textured and unexpected. She is constantly experimenting with her pieces: adding, subtracting, sanding. When she is not painting Swimmers, she is capturing the fish surrounding her. She has created over 100 large public and corporate commissions internationally, and is in private collections around the world. Carol Bennett was recently currently featured in two exhibits at the Honolulu Museum of Art. Networking and Water: Carol Bennett featuring female swimmers, as well as marine nets floating or submerged in water. Bennett was also part of the group exhibit Making Waves highlighting the important role of women artists in the museum’s contemporary collection. In this show, the works by international and Hawaii-based artists all have a relationship to water. Featured artists also included: April Gornik, Agnes Martin, Judy Pfaff, Kiki Smith and Pat Steir! Elisa Contemporary Art...
Gold Leaf
$2,900
"MV Spring" abstract figurative oil painting swimmer underwater with orange
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
Mixed Media, Cardboard
"Hannah's Back" oil painting of a woman swimming underwater in red suit
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
Oil, Cardboard
$5,100
"Slide Right (Paper)" figurative oil painting of swimmer underwater red swimsuit
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
Oil, Paper
$6,000
"SUSPENSE on paper" painting of a woman in red suit gliding beneath the water
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
India Ink, Oil, Acrylic, Paper
$2,900
"Summer Sojourn 1" Woman in Orange Bikini Swimming with Reflections on Water
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"Summer Sojourn 1" Woman in Orange Bikini Swimming with Reflections on Water “I have an open and free-wheeling approach to technique and material...
Oil, Wood Panel
$3,200
"Winter White" reflective painting of woman in white bathing suit underwater
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
Canvas, Oil
"Amy" side profile of a woman with white bathing suit floating up for air
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
Canvas, Oil
$10,500
Malibu Dawn Patrol, Surfer, Water, Painting, Blue, Orange, Male Figure, Waves
By Carol Bennett
Located in Riverdale, NY
Malibu Dawn Patrol is a figurative artwork featuring a male surfer catching a wave. It is a mixed media painting. Artwork is 31.5 x 31.5. This is part of the latest series by Ha...
Varnish, Oil, Acrylic, Wood Panel
"Water Lotus" Oil painting of a woman in orange swimming in green water
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
Oil Pastel, India Ink, Oil, Wood Panel
$24,850
"Kissing the Ground" abstract oil painting of woman in red suit under blue water
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
Oil, Wood Panel
$23,000
"Summer Traveler" oil painting of a woman in red bikini in turquoise water
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
Oil, Wood Panel
$3,500
"See Water (Bottles) oil painting of a woman swimming underwater with red suit
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
Oil, Cardboard
$4,700
Hannah's Window, Swimmer, Water, Work on Paper, Red Swimsuit, Female Figure
By Carol Bennett
Located in Riverdale, NY
Hannah's Window is a figurative artwork featuring a female swimmer in a red bathing suit moving through the water. It is a mixed media painting on painted wood grained paper. Artwork is 26 x 20. It is framed to 32 x 26 with a white frame. This is part of the latest series by Hawaii artist, Carol Bennett. Carol Bennett spends all of her time surrounded by water, and a great deal within it. Her work is a meditative journey through both the water and through life. She is intrigued by how life continues to flow and change, being both in the moment and timeless. The viewer will experience being in a state “flow” – where the currents of the ocean suspend life and self, and the unexpected floats to the surface. Carol's work has been featured in many solo and group exhibits throughout California, New York, Martha's Vineyard and Hawaii including a 2007 solo show at the First Hawaiian Center at the Contemporary Museum of Art (Honolulu) and a 2018 group show "Making Waves" exhibit at the Honolulu Museum of Art. Her work was seen alongside April Gornik, Agnes Martin, Kiki Smith, and Pat Steir. In 2019, she was also featured in exhibits at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, the Hawaii State Art Museum and a solo exhibit at the Honolulu Museum of Art. She has been featured in Hamptons Cottages & Gardens, Ocean Home Magazine and the New York Times. Carol's artwork has also been featured in Designer Showhouses in Westchester NY and the Hamptons, and is part of public and private collections around the world. Elisa Contemporary Art...
Varnish, Oil, Acrylic, Archival Paper
"Orange You Drifting" oil painting of a woman floating in a turquoise pool
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
Oil, Cardboard
"Flow (paper)" Abstract painting of a woman in a blue pool
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
Abstract oil painting of a woman in a blue pool. "I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has follow...
Paper, Oil, Acrylic
$3,700
"Suzie Q (Paper)" mixed media painting of feet floating in water with reflection
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
Mixed Media, Archival Paper
"Soft Water" woman in white bathingsuit glides through the water
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. P...
Canvas, Oil
"Still Water" Bright red and blue scene of swimmer on water surface on panel.
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
Mixed Media
"Blue Board" Ink and Oil Woman on a surfboard held up by another woman.
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
Mixed Media
$3,300
"Yellow There (Paper)" mixed media painting of a woman in gold suit in blue pool
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
Mixed Media, Archival Paper
$7,200
"Women Holding Up Women/Indian Summer" mixed media painting of surfer, orange
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
Mixed Media, Paper
$1,600
Heleconia
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
Glass, Mixed Media
$2,600
Waterfall Duet 2, Water, Gold, White, Flowing, Acrylic, Oil, Painting, unframed
By Carol Bennett
Located in Riverdale, NY
Waterfall Duet 2 is an original waterfall painting by Hawaii artist Carol Bennett. It is reminiscent of the beautiful flowing waterfalls throughout the Hawaiian islands. It is Acry...
Varnish, Oil, Acrylic, Board
$1,600
Trigger
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
Glass, Mixed Media
$3,300
"Gesture (Paper)" mixed media painting of a figure in orange suit in teal water
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
Mixed Media, Archival Paper
$8,200
"Women Holding Up Women/Green Flash" mixed media painting, surfer, orange, blue
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
Mixed Media, Paper
"Flame Angel" Abstract mixed media reverse triptych painting behind glass
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Presently I'm working on wood, I'm intrigued by wood grain swirling like water and how that ground moves through the swimmer's form”. Carol graduated from the Art Center College of Design in painting. For some 20 years she split her time between her loft in downtown LA and a beach bungalow in Hawaii- satisfying a passion for culture and the ocean's pull. In LA she painted backdrops...
Gold Leaf
$7,500
"Lotus Action Figure" Abstract oil painting of woman in lotus pose in blue pool
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
Abstract oil painting of a woman in lotus pose in a blue pool. “I have an open and free-wheeling approach to technique and materials: hypothesis, experiment and conclusion…I am intr...
Oil, Wood Panel
$3,800
Flat, painting inspired by Hawaii Fish, Red, black, Green, Oil, Ink on panel
By Carol Bennett
Located in Riverdale, NY
Flat is Ink and Oil and Varnish on Wood Panel inspired by the Hawaii Flatfish. It is 20x20 filled with red, orange, black and green. Carol Bennett spends all of her time surrounded...
Ink, Oil, Wood Panel
$8,200
"Women Holding Up Women/Baby Blue" Blue and gold mixed media painting of surfer
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
Mixed Media, Paper
$2,600
Waterfall Duet 1, Water, Gold, White, Flowing, Acrylic, Oil, Painting, unframed
By Carol Bennett
Located in Riverdale, NY
Waterfall Duet 1 is an original waterfall painting by Hawaii artist Carol Bennett. It is reminiscent of the beautiful flowing waterfalls throughout the Hawaiian islands. It is Acry...
Varnish, Oil, Acrylic, Board
$1,100
"Bad Ass Rose (paper)" Acrylic painting on paper of a white rose with red dots
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
Mixed Media, Acrylic
$500
"Little Big Fall 3 (paper)" Abstract painting of waterfall with dark background
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...
Paper, Acrylic