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.
$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
$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
$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
"Heleconia" Abstract Painting, Mixed Media on Glass, 21st Century
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
"Trigger" Abstract Painting, Mixed Media on Glass, bright colors
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
"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
$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
$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
$620
H 5 in W 5 in D 1.5 in
Miniature Mantelpiece Art - Original Abstract Landscape with Yellow Pink & Green
By Angela Wakefield
Located in Preston, GB
Miniature Mantelpiece Art - Original Abstract Landscape with Yellow Pink & Green by leading British Urban Artist Angela Wakefield. Part of the "mantelpiece series" of miniatures....
Gesso, Canvas, Cotton, Paint, Varnish, Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, ...
$7,800
H 45 in W 45 in D 1.5 in
Abstract Landscape Mixed Media Canvas Painting 45x45" The clarity of a shore
By Irena Orlov
Located in Los Angeles, CA
One of a kind Mixed Medium on Canvas Artwork: Original abstract mixed media work on canvas, which combines new media - digital original hand painting, printed on canvas, then hand p...
Canvas, Varnish, Archival Ink, Acrylic, Mixed Media
$1,240
H 23.63 in W 15.75 in D 0.16 in
Original-Blue Cat-Gold Leaf- British Awarded Artist-surreal-expression-abstract
Located in London, GB
Primary Colour Series- Blue Cat is inspired by Japanese woodblock Print and the a nod to calligraphy tradition. With strokes of gilded gold leaves, gesso and acrylic, Shizico Yi pain...
Gold Leaf
$182Sale Price|20% Off
H 8.67 in W 11.82 in
Dream birds. Cardboard, author's technique, 22x30 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Dream birds. Cardboard, author's technique, 22x30 cm Ivars Zaikins (1942-2017) Zaikins Ivars - an artist. He was born in 1942. During of the Soviet Union period, he worked as an ar...
Mixed Media, Cardboard
"Flirtation, " Abstract Painting
By Ned Martin
Located in Westport, CT
This horizontal abstract painting by Ned Martin is made with oil paint and 24K gold leaf on aluminum. The artist's signature square and rectangular patterned composition serves as a ...
Metal, Gold Leaf
$62,041Sale Price|30% Off
H 41 in W 32.5 in D 2 in
Dark & Atmospheric Abstract Expressionist Art by Contemporary British Painter
By Angela Wakefield
Located in Preston, GB
Dark & Atmospheric Abstract Expressionist Painting by Contemporary British Painter Angela Wakefield - a rare early work. Entitled 'Accrington ...
Gesso, Canvas, Cotton, Paint, Varnish, Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, ...
$2,800Sale Price|30% Off
H 18 in W 14 in D 1.5 in
"Buster" by L. A. Spowart - Bright Playful Abstract Animal Dog Painting on Wood
Located in Carmel, CA
Lesley Anne Spowart (American, born 1957) "Buster" 2023 Acrylic Paint, Oil Paint, Mixed Media, Wood Panel, Wire The artist signed the bottom left and back of the painting. "Buster"...
Wire
$96,508Sale Price|30% Off
H 40 in W 43 in D 2.5 in
Blue Red & Green Abstract Expressionist Painting by British Contemporary Artist
By Angela Wakefield
Located in Preston, GB
Blue, Red & Green Abstract Expressionist Painting, entitled 'Tropical City #1', an extremely rare early work from leading British Contemporary Artist...
Gesso, Acrylic, Oil, Mixed Media, Cotton Canvas, Varnish, Paint, Cotton,...
$3,600
H 55.12 in W 47.25 in D 0.04 in
Tension Of A Dream, abstract, bold, statement, de Kooning, texture, water, blue
Located in Jönköping, SE
This painting is part of a new series that embodies my ongoing artistic journey. I begin each piece with an initial idea or thought. However, as the painting evolves, I find myself r...
Mixed Media, Acrylic
$34,467
H 28.5 in W 38 in D 2.5 in
Earthy Brown & Green Abstract Expressionist Art - a Unique Original Painting
By Angela Wakefield
Located in Preston, GB
Earthy Brown & Green Abstract Expressionist Art - a Unique Original Painting - an extremely rare early work from leading British Contemporary Artist, Angela Wakefield. This colou...
Gesso, Canvas, Cotton, Paint, Varnish, Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, ...
$12,408
H 48.04 in W 59.85 in
Surrealist Large Painting Royal College of Art LGBTQ+ Female Blue Green Water
By Isabel Rock
Located in Norfolk, GB
Isabel Rock is a creator of contemporary fairy tales. A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, her work is an explosion of strange occurrences while a surreal narrative takes the audience on a journey into the imagination. In October 2023 Isabel won the Evelyn Williams Drawing Award at the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize. Known as the UK’s most prestigious annual open exhibition for drawing; part of the prize is a solo show at Hastings Contemporary, scheduled for 2024. Whilst Isabel always has a tale to tell for each of her images, you may or may not choose to go on the journey with her or you may indeed have a different story, one of your own that jumps off the page at you, that that you decide to follow. Artwork Details: Water, 122 x 152cm, Collaged woodblock print, acrylic inks on Somerset satin paper, 2023 Artwork Provenance: from the Artist Studio photo credits, Isabel working, black and white shots, James Brown In Isabel's own words: Water; Once upon a time there was water. It fell from the sky in clear blue droplets. It made pools and puddles on the ground. The water tasted sweet and pure, it was good to drink, to make soup, to swim in or to wash in. It made the plants and trees grow big and luscious, it was the lifeblood of everything.. Everybody loved water and no one ever questioned where it came from or that one day the rain might stop and there would be no water. The water women went about their usual business, they made soup, they grew cabbages, they argued and laughed together. The well was always full, there was food aplenty, life thrived. It is sometimes said that ignorance is bliss, and the women did live in bliss although they did not know it. They did not know that one day the rain would stop. It was only when the rain stopped that they knew they had lived in bliss. *Please note we are happy to ship this work rolled in an art tube. Whilst the work is on heavy duty art paper and mixed media, the artist is happy that the painting will be fine rolled in a tube. This is a more cost effective and environmentally sound method of shipping. Shipping via this method is free. About Isabel Rock and her work: Taking inspiration from Japanese woodblock prints and Indian miniature painting Rock has developed a unique collage technique that combines bold structures with large-scale woodblock prints and intricate detailing. The subject is a grand mixture of humour, drama, hidden morals, fanciful characters, modern culture, mythical beings and fantastical situations. Rock creates a world that pulls you in and demands your attention. Quality of line is paramount, the drawings are created using a dipping pen and acrylic ink. An essential tool is a squirrel...
Paint, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Archival Paper, Pen
$10,340Sale Price|70% Off
H 30 in W 40 in D 2 in
Orange & Red Abstract Sunset Sunrise Painting by Leading British Urban Artist
By Angela Wakefield
Located in Preston, GB
Orange & Red Abstract Expressionist Painting - a rare early work from Leading British Urban Artist, Angela Wakefield. Entitled 'Sunset Sunrise #1', this bold, colourful artwork is fr...
Gesso, Canvas, Cotton, Paint, Varnish, Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, ...
Sold
H 22 in W 30 in
"Light Catcher" Woman in white bathing suit at play under 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
Sold
H 12 in W 12 in
"Diamonds" Abstract oil painting with water sparkling white and 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...
Oil, Cardboard
Sold
H 5 in W 8.5 in
"Listening (Paper)" Figurative abstract oil painting of people in the ocean
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...
Oil, Handmade Paper
Sold
H 20 in W 20 in
"Beachwalker (In the Light)" abstract painting of silhouette, glistening ocean
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
Sold
H 22 in W 30 in
"Time Out (paper)" abstract painting of a woman swimming under teal water
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
Abstract mixed media painting of a woman swimming under teal water "I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer ...
Paper, Oil
Sold
H 48 in W 36 in
"Om/Mom" Black and white abstract seascape of figures in the ocean
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
Black and white abstract oil painting of figures in the ocean with a resin finish. "I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drift...
Resin, Oil, Wood Panel
Sold
H 46 in W 46 in
"Kissing the Ground" Abstract oil painting of a woman in a red suit under water
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
Abstract oil painting of a woman in a red suit under blue water. "I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer se...
Oil, Wood Panel
Sold
H 22 in W 30 in
"Fresh Water Drops" Black and white oil painting on paper of ripples in water
By Carol Bennett
Located in Edgartown, MA
Black and white oil painting on paper of ripples in water. "I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series"...
Paper, Oil
Sold
H 24 in W 24 in
Salmon Study, Mixed Media work on paper, Swimmer, Water, Coral, Orange, floating
By Carol Bennett
Located in Riverdale, NY
Salmon Study by Hawaii artist Carol Bennett is Oil and Shellac on Paper, 22x22. It is framed to 24x24. Carol Bennett spends all of her time surrounded by water, and a great deal wi...
Varnish, Oil, Archival Paper