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
$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
$1,500
H 18.12 in W 24.02 in D 1.19 in
French Contemporary Art by Karine Bartoli - Beach 3 Personnages
By Karine Bartoli
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on canvas Karine Bartoli was born in 1971 in Ajaccio. She enrolled at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux Arts in Marseille where she graduated in 1997. Since then she has ...
Canvas, Oil
$4,942
H 39.38 in W 31.89 in
Unleashed by Christophe Dupety - Male Nude Painting, Contemporary
By Christophe Dupety
Located in Paris, FR
Unleashed (2018) by French contemporary artist Christophe Dupety. Oil on canvas, 100 x 81 cm. In his Human Figures series, Christophe Dupety shows us some bodies which aspect reminds...
Oil, Canvas
$2,200
H 31.89 in W 39.38 in D 1.19 in
French Contemporary Art by Karine Bartoli - Formentera Ses Illetes 09
By Karine Bartoli
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on canvas Karine Bartoli was born in 1971 in Ajaccio. She enrolled at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux Arts in Marseille where she graduated in 1997. Since then she has ...
Canvas, Oil
$38,000
H 36 in W 24 in D 0.75 in
"Disrupted" by Masri - Colorful Abstract Portrait Painted with Artist Bare Hands
By Masri Hayssam
Located in Carmel, CA
Masri Hayssam (Lebanese, born 1965) "Disrupted" 2024 Oil Paint, Acrylic Paint, Mixed Media, Canvas, Stretcher Bars The artist signed the bottom right and back of the painting. "Disr...
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars
$40,000
H 36 in W 24 in D 0.75 in
"The Painted Face" by Masri - Colorful Abstract Portrait Painted with Bare Hands
By Masri Hayssam
Located in Carmel, CA
Masri Hayssam (Lebanese, born 1965) "The Painted Face" 2024 Oil Paint, Acrylic Paint, Mixed Media, Canvas, Stretcher Bars The artist signed the bottom right and back of the painting....
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars
$27,500
H 28 in W 22 in D 0.75 in
"Her" - Bold Colorful Modern Mixed Media Textured Abstract Portrait of a Woman
By Masri Hayssam
Located in Carmel, CA
Masri Hayssam (Lebanese, born 1965) "Her" 2022 Oil and acrylic paint on paper adhered to a stretched canvas Signed on the bottom right and back of the painting. "Her" by Masri captu...
Canvas, Paper, Mixed Media, Glue, Oil, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars
"Boudoir” oil on canvas by Michele
By Michele 85
Located in Carmel, CA
Michele's paintings are about the timeline of human life and its effect on art. For the last 15 years, Michele has been deconstructing the subject matter. In as much as she enjoys ...
Canvas, Oil
$1,900
H 25.6 in W 31.5 in D 1.19 in
French Contemporary Art by Karine Bartoli - Foot 02
By Karine Bartoli
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on canvas Karine Bartoli was born in 1971 in Ajaccio. She enrolled at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux Arts in Marseille where she graduated in 1997. Since then she has ...
Canvas, Oil
$55,000
H 40 in W 30 in D 0.75 in
"Untitled" - Vibrant and Colorful Emotional Expressionist Male Portrait Artwork
By Masri Hayssam
Located in Carmel, CA
Masri Hayssam (Lebanese-Italian, born 1965) "Untitled" 2025 Oil Paint, Acrylic Paint, Mixed Media, Canvas, Stretcher Bars The artist signed the bottom left and the back of the painti...
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars
$49,000
H 40 in W 30 in D 0.75 in
"Essence Persona" by Masri - Black and Ochre Hand Painted Abstract Portrait
By Masri Hayssam
Located in Carmel, CA
Masri Hayssam (Lebanese, born 1965) "Essence Persona" 2023 Oil Paint, Acrylic Paint, Canvas, Stretcher Bars The artist signed the bottom right and back of the canvas. This stunning ...
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars
$18,000
H 30 in W 24 in D 0.75 in
"Untangled" by Masri - Black and White Abstract Portrait - Bare Hand Painted
By Masri Hayssam
Located in Carmel, CA
Masri Hayssam (Lebanese, born 1965) "Untangled" 2018 Acrylic paint, Oil paint, Canvas, Stretcher Bars The artist signed the bottom right of the painting. This powerful mixed-media a...
Canvas, Stretcher Bars, Oil, Acrylic
The Embrace by Marc Zimmerman
By Marc Zimmerman
Located in Carmel, CA
The Embrace by Marc Zimmerman Romance in a colorful villiage ABOUT THE ARTIST Marc Zimmerman is a visionary artist whose creations embody a captivating blend of playfulness and de...
Canvas, Oil