Kayak Artist

Kayak artist Carol Hallock has found an unconventional studio—her small boat drifting along Bayou Lacombe in southeastern Louisiana. From the seat of her kayak, Hallock brings canvas, oils, and brushes into the swampy wilderness, painting what she sees, feels, and absorbs from the water-level world around her.

“I always liked anything Louisiana. The pelicans, the oak trees, water on the bayou just surrounds me and it becomes a part of you,” Hallock explains. Her paintings reflect the changing seasons, the moods of light and water, and the small details of bayou life, that she brings to life with her brush strokes.

painting on the water

Hallock packs light—a small palette, a few brushes, and a modest canvas. She paddles until she finds a scene that stirs her creativity. In spring, she notes, “It’s bright, bright, bright, bright greens, and they only last about a week.” From her low vantage point, she sees the landscape from new angles—“looking up” at trees from the water’s surface, reaching parts of the bayou inaccessible by land.

Though she’s painted the area countless times, Hallock says, “The composition may be very similar, but your colors change, your light changes.” Her challenge is to make each work more expressive than the last. Dropping anchor near a cluster of cypress, she notices moss swaying in the breeze and sunlight tracing patterns across the water. Some of the trees appear to be dead. “Dead trees are interesting,” she observes. “They talk somehow.”

kayak artist fetured on tv

Carol hallock paintings

Her award-winning oil paintings feature Louisiana bayou themes: the weathered cypress, the seasonal shifts of Louisiana’s wetlands, and a white egret she affectionately names Geraldine. “I’ve always kind of been closed off from emotion, not really knowing how I felt,” she says. “I think painting has helped me acknowledge what’s inside of me.”

plein air artist in a kayak

Rather than rely on photographs, Hallock prefers the immediacy and emotion of plein air painting. “The camera doesn’t have the emotion,” she says. “If you’re out in nature, you’re trying to do a 3-D, and there’s 3-D in front of you.” Painting from life allows her to absorb the scene—its light, movement, and spirit—more completely than any lens could capture in a 2-dimensional picture.

artistry in a kayak

If her brush strokes are accurate, Hallock said she can finish a painting in under an hour. And when the light fades, there’s always tomorrow. Another paddle. Another painting. Another quiet afternoon along the bayou.

Hallock’s paintings featured in New Orleans gallery

During the month of May 2025, the paintings of Carol Hallock are being featured at the Gallery 600 Julia in downtown New Orleans. The gallery is located at 600 Julia Street. Phone – (504) 895-7375. You can view more of artist Carol Hallock’s paintings by clicking here for her website.