Self taught, Carrie Ballantyne began drawing as a child, "…anything that would hold still long enough". It wasn't until her twenties that the dream of actually becoming a professional artist was realized.
For the next ten years, Ballantyne refined and established her particular style as a graphite portrait artist in the Western genre. In 1990 she switched to colored pencil on sanded pastel paper using a glazing technique, continuing with portraiture~" I never tire of the human face, there is nothing more fascinating, for this artist. And the people of the West still intrique me the most."
Pencils have worked well with Ballantyne's home life. Being married to a working cowboy, along with the unique demands of rural living, and the mothering of two home schooled children, Carrie's "art time" was limited. Pencil, charcoal, and conte crayon, have been the mediums of choice until just recently… Now that her children are grown, Carrie is working primarily in oil paint, and thoroughly enjoying the new artistic challenge. "I have waited a long time for this opportunity, and I don't take this special privilege lightly. My style and subject remain the same, but with the qualities now that only a brush and oil paint can provide."
