WINTER PARK, FL – Artist John Carollo will bring his one-day Watercolor Workshop back to Crealde School of Art on March 6, 2027, with a new twist. Titled “Collaborating with Watercolor: The Human Figure,” the class will focus on how the watercolor medium can often have a mind of its own and a tendency to assert its independence at every opportunity, but rather than fight with it, a collaborative approach where both artist and paint share control helps unlock unique atmospheric and transparency effects. Students will then apply the approach to creating expressive impressions of one of the most interesting of subjects – the human figure. Through demonstrations and discussion, students will discover the surprising, therapeutic results they can achieve by letting the flow of the paint take the lead.

John has an extensive backround creating impressions of figures through watercolor, including his time as the Resident Artist of Voci Modern Dance Company and the traveling show consisting entirely of human figures, The Figure as Vehicle, which he and Marsha De Broske developed and toured with.

The theme of the workshop was inspired by how often John hears comments from people about how “hard,” “unforgiving,” and “frustrating” the medium can be, cleverly summed up in the famous response to a question by Impressionist artist Edgar Degas:

…when asked by a woman what kind of watercolors she should buy her son, his reply was that she would be safer buying the child a revolver.

Following the lead of the flowing paint, an approach John uses extensively in his distinctive Controlled Chaos painting style, can be freeing, therapeutic, and a lot of fun. Students will be encouraged to try new techniques and develop their own through trial and error which may open possibilities they may not have previously considered.

A sampling of the positive feedback John received from the Fall 2025 debut of the workshop is below, and the artist looks forward to engaging with students again this Spring.

“I enjoyed your workshop on Sunday and would register for another workshop or class with you at Crealde. Your artwork is wonderful and your teaching very kind and supportive.”

“Thank your so much for teaching the class and for all of the helpful info. from it! I learned a lot and had more fun than I expected to. I’ve been incorporating some of what I learned in my own watercolor practice and I’m really happy with the results. It’s definitely different than I would have done before.”

“This was great. Thank you so much! What an incredibly challenging day.“

“I showed the painting I did in your workshop to my watercolor classes and they thought it was amazing! Thank you again for sharing your techniques!”

Registration information will be available soon on the Crealde website.

WINTER PARK, FL – After the success of the first class in September, 2025, Artist John Carollo will bring his one-day Watercolor Workshop back to Crealde School of Art on April 19, 2026. Titled “Collaborating with Watercolor,” the class will focus on how the watercolor medium can often have a mind of its own and a tendency to assert its independence at every opportunity, but rather than fight with it, a collaborative approach where both artist and paint share control helps unlock unique atmospheric and transparency effects. Through demonstrations and discussion, students will discover the surprising, therapeutic results they can achieve by letting the flow of the paint take the lead.

The theme of the workshop was inspired by how often John hears comments from people about how “hard,” “unforgiving,” and “frustrating” the medium can be, cleverly summed up in the famous response to a question by Impressionist artist Edgar Degas:

…when asked by a woman what kind of watercolors she should buy her son, his reply was that she would be safer buying the child a revolver.

Following the lead of the flowing paint, an approach John uses extensively in his distinctive Controlled Chaos painting style, can be freeing, therapeutic, and a lot of fun. Students will be encouraged to try new techniques and develop their own through trial and error which may open possibilities they may not have previously considered.

A sampling of the positive feedback John received from the Fall 2025 debut of the workshop is below, and the artist looks forward to engaging with students again this Spring.

“I enjoyed your workshop on Sunday and would register for another workshop or class with you at Crealde. Your artwork is wonderful and your teaching very kind and supportive.”

“Thank your so much for teaching the class and for all of the helpful info. from it! I learned a lot and had more fun than I expected to. I’ve been incorporating some of what I learned in my own watercolor practice and I’m really happy with the results. It’s definitely different than I would have done before.”

“This was great. Thank you so much! What an incredibly challenging day.“

“I showed the painting I did in your workshop to my watercolor classes and they thought it was amazing! Thank you again for sharing your techniques!”

Click here to learn more and reserve a spot.

The vibrant colors really help to enhance what was a pretty bleak intersection and John is always pleased to add a bit of color and beauty to the world wherever he can.

The second box created by the artist, located at the intersection of Wymore Rd and Fairbanks Avenue, features a composite image of the three paintings – Eye of the Storm and Duality 1 and 2.

The Mercantile is located at 1260 E Altamonte Dr, Altamonte Springs, FL 32701

Of similar quality to art magnets available from museum gift shops, the initial batch includes 2″x3″ reproductions of the pieces Dance Study I, Eye of the Storm, and Lake Eola – Rain, all of which where showcased in local media in the past. More prints of other pieces will be added in the future.

These magnets are a fun, inexpensive way to add a bit of Carollo’s distinctive Controlled Chaos artistic flair to any metal surface, and also make a great gift.

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The concept is presented in a series of work through paintings  which are completed, deconstructed, and then, from the pieces, reformed into dynamic new compositions. The raised, attached collage pieces create interesting shadows, reminiscent of Carollo’s previous 3D constructions.

On display in the artist’s new Gallery Shop – Booth A17 at The Mercantile in the Greater Orlando area of Altamonte Springs, Florida, the seven initial pieces in the series are all available for purchase. 

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MAITLAND, FL – Artist John Carollo will be participating in the Art and History Museums – Maitland (AHM-M) Holiday Studio Stroll on December 8, 2023, from 6:30-8:30PM. The event will feature live seasonal music and a cash bar, and guests are encouraged to bring a blanket and picnic to share with friends as they stroll the beautiful, historic grounds and tour the open artist studios.

Carollo, largely known for his abstract watercolor paintings and silk/aluminum sculptures, decided to rekindle his long-lost love of printmaking in 2023, and participated in a linocut class offered by the Maitland Art Center (part of the AHM-M complex) early in the year. As such, he will be showing new linocut work developed over the past few months as one of 11 students displaying their art for sale during the event. Four print series will be presented – “Share Your Holidays” seasonal cards/envelopes with a whimsical cat/mouse theme, “Ascending I and II,” two vertically-oriented, monotone prints based on the artist’s previous sculptural collaboration with Marsha De Broske entitled “Ascending to Light,” and “Maitland Cat Center I”, the first in a series of pieces that put a feline twist on the famed Andre Smith reliefs which embellish the architecture of the National Register of Historic Places-certified Maitland Art Center.

More information about the event, the Art and History Museums – Maitland, and free RSVP tickets for the evening can be found at artandhistory.org/holiday-studio-show

Located in the Lowndes Shakespeare Center, 812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL 32803, the Mini-Fest is a compact version of the larger theatrical festival, which is produced for two weeks each May. 

Three of John’s original paintings, Mood Indigo, No Exit and Aqua will be displayed and available for purchase during the duration of the festival, January 3-7, 2018, and a select number of additional works will be available during the artist demonstration. 

Learn more about John Carollo and his artwork at nakedeyestudios.com

Originally posted January 9, 2013.

One of the more surprising elements of The Figure As Vehicle at the Mount Dora Center for the Arts is overhead –Icarus Ascends, a dramatic aluminum, stainless steel and painted silk sculpture flying above the other artwork. Here is a bit of the story behind its creation.

Watermedia artist John Carollo has long had the goal of combining his distinctive painting style with kinetic sculpture to create large-scale pieces for atriums, hospitals, public spaces, transit stations and the like. With the premiere of Icarus Ascends at the Mount Dora Center for the Arts, he has now completed his first physical example of how this concept could be realized.

“When I started working with silk, I knew it held the potential for the large-scale constructions I had been visualizing, but there was no way to really convey the complexity of the idea in a sketch. It would never be able to capture the richness of color or ever-changing nature of the design, when viewed from different angles. I was going to have to actually build one for people to understand my idea,” says John.

When touring the gallery space with Marsha again several months before the show, the ceiling height was noted, and while something on this scale had not originally been considered for the event, John felt this was the time to attempt it. Then began a three-month journey to bring the concept to reality.

In order to work with the show theme, the piece had to be based on a human figure, but also needed to be abstract enough in form that it would not require a huge leap of the imagination for viewers to understand how a creation made of the same materials could be shaped in other manners. Perhaps a flowing aquatic animal, geometric shape, a continuous twisting ribbon, a cascading spiral, etc.

The first step was sourcing a material that would provide an attractive appearance as a base structure, be strong enough to hold a form for a full 16 feet of length, and also be as light as possible, so as not to put undue strain on its ceiling mounts. 1″ wide aluminum strips were found to be the perfect solution. Used in two different depths – thicker for points requiring the most structural support and thinner for maximum lightness and bendability. In a marked difference from John’s previous two pieces, the silk-based The Reach from 2012 and paper-based The Rapture from 2010, the structure in the new work was conceived as a full part of the sculptural form, as opposed to primarily being a base support system for overlaid material.

When considering subject matter for the piece, John quickly turned to his fondness for Greek Mythology and quickly settled on the idea of Icarus, the boy who flew too close to the sun. His father Daedalus was a master engineer and built sets of wings for the two of them, allowing them to fly. He carefully cautioned his son not to fly too near the sun, as the feathers in the wings were held on with wax. Icarus, thrilled with the feeling of flight and becoming overconfident soared too far above his father, causing the wings to melt and him to plummet into the sea where he perished. It’s a cautionary tale warning against the dangers of excessive cockiness, which can so often lead to ruin.

In the artwork, we see Icarus ascending higher, with one wing raised above the other and becoming noticeably hotter. This coloration is also present in the head and upper torso, while the lower extremities, still a safe distance from the sun remain cooler.

Initial sketches were created, with some key conceptual ideas for how the figure would be constructed and points of emphasis mapped out. Some may find the lack of detail in sketches for what would seem to be such a complicated project surprising, but this approach is consistent with John’s traditional “controlled chaos” watercolor approach. He draws just enough information to give him a visual framework, and then lets the rest of the piece happen in real time, reacting to the material as he works with it. While some of the details evolved, and the finished piece is certainly more intricate than the sketches, the overall form is quite similar to what was first doodled.

A several week process began of cutting and shaping aluminum, and fastening it together with many, many stainless steel screws. The main form and torso of the figure is created from a spiraling helix shape (think DNA strand, or the inside of certain seashells) and numerous strips are twisted in places to provide enhanced appearance/light refraction, as well as needed stiffening and strengthening to reduce sag and flex.

The next phase was silk painting, which spanned many weeks, with large sections of fabric completed based on general ideas of what sort of details and coloration was needed for various areas of the sculpture. All the painting was captured on video on will be added to John’s YouTube Channel in time-lapse format soon.

Once the material was steam-set for permanence and brilliance of color, the challenging step of choosing which painted areas would be most effective, cutting the fabric into shapes that would continue the dynamic flow of the sculptural aluminum, while filling out the figurative shape, and finally sewing and attaching the pieces began. In another evolution of approach from The Reach, wire was sewn into the edges of all fabric as it was being hemmed. Though this slowed down the sewing process and posed its own set of challenges, it gave the fabric the ability to be shaped and supported independent of the metal structure, so the two different materials could sometimes join and sometimes dance together from a distance. One of the main benefits of this was that more of the intricately twisted aluminum could remain visible as a great contrast to the colorful silk. The wings in particular have metal mainly at the top edges, with the rest of the fabric shaped by internal wire, giving them an extremely light, flowing and airy appearance.  The top of the sculpture has relatively little silk in relation to other parts. This is by design to allow as much light as possible to flow through to the underside, which is the area most seen by viewers as the piece hangs from the ceiling.

With a completed size of 13′ x 16′, Icarus Ascends is also light enough to be carried by one person, making this sort of artistic construction suitable for numerous applications and installation locations. The finished sculpture is suspended from the Art Center ceiling by thin steel cables and tilts slightly upward to emphasize how the boy is rising in the air.

The creation of Icarus has been a fascinating journey for John and he is planing future uses of this unique combination of materials in various sizes and creative forms.

Now available in the Naked Eye Studios Etsy Shop are hand-painted ceramic items. A flurry of energy and color swirls around these pieces, which are glazed, dishwasher safe, fired ceramic – suitable for food/serving use, or great for adding some artistry to a wall or shelf display.

Also just added to the shop are dynamic hand-painted 100% silk habotai scarves. Available in several sizes, including large enough to be a small shoulder wrap, these flowing accessories feature rich, beautiful translucent color.

John Carollo’s distinctive Controlled Chaos painting style combines beautifully with the smoothly rippling nature of real silk. These scarves are one-of-a-kind, original creations that can provide an unusual and unique splash of color and style to any outfit. Truly wearable art from an established artist, the colors combine in flowing and unusual blends and fades, projecting a varied and ever-changing appearance depending on how the scarf is worn or draped.

Not leaving traditional watercolor behind, numerous original paintings are now displayed in the shop, as well as a signed, first edition copy of John’s coffee table book – Liquid Thoughts: The Watercolors of John Carollo. The 11×8.5″ volume features 21 pages of full-color photos of John’s work, ranging from 2D figures and nature scenes to large 3D mixed-media and silk sculptures. Makes a great gift or addition to your own library.