Carolyne Hawley was born in the heartland of America. She was raised on a rural farm outside Chicago, Illinois. Carolyne began establishing her future as a renowned equine artist at a very young age. Horses in particular captured her artistic interest. She began with sketches and progressed to oils. With her young family, the artist migrated to Southern California and settled in the desert surrounding the Palm Springs area. Carolyn continued to pursue her artistic talents, accumulating an acclaimed collection of Western influence paintings, and honing in on the powerful interpretations of horses for which she is known. She attributes a major artistic influence to a founder of the Laguna Arts Pageant, the late Burt Proctor, and has also studied under the guidance of Ron McKee, Donald ‘Putt’ Puttman, Emily Touraine, Neil Boyle, and Martha Sauduk.
While raising her family, she focused her artistic attention through venues allowing flexibility and locally, resulting in several commissions including: Palm Springs City Hall; paintings of Sonny Bono and Ronald Reagan, Darr Eye Clinic in Palm Desert, murals at Indian Wells City Hall, Leanin’ Tree Greeting Cards, Boulder, CO, Bruce McGaw Graphics poster reproductions, World Art Group, Simply Home, Thirsty Stone, and Buy Carolyne Hawley Murals. She currently resides on a small ranch near Palm Springs in the high desert where she paints in her studio, teaches workshops, and rides her horse in the area. Primarily a self-taught artist, she’s known for animals and portraits. Her art continue to cause a lot of excitement among upcoming artists.