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Artistic Style: My paintings and drawings are descriptions of the landscape.
Home town: I grew up in Canton, Miss., but I have lived in Oxford for 11 years.
Early art experience: Many—Making backdrops at Camp DeSoto
Favorite visual artists: Many—Charles Burchfield has my attention right now.
Art educaton: BFA, Ole Miss, 2000. MFA, LSU, 2004.
What’s the most rewarding thing about teaching at Ole Miss? Students! Art classes are relatively small, so I enjoy getting to know my students pretty well. People tend to make work about what really interests them, and I especially enjoy the times that talking about art facilitates meaningful conversations between people who might not even speak if they were waiting next to each other in line for coffee.
Where is your studio located? My studio is just across my driveway—very convenient.
How many hours to you spend in your studio each day? It’s definitely a full-time job.
Most productive hours: Mornings—before I have to think in too many directions
Favorite project you’ve completed: Right now, I am enjoying my work at Southside—100 line drawings of plants made over 15 years and arranged in month, date order. It is a cumulative project and the starting place for my paintings, so I have been thinking about the drawings in relation to each other for a long time. Seeing them at once in such a lovely physical space has been exciting. That said, I really don’t have exclusive favorites.
Favorite artistic implement: pencil, scissors, x-acto, round brush, flat brush, pump sprayer. No way I could choose one.
Three ideas you want to explore in art: 1. slow down & look closely at the natural world; 2. mark time, observe seasonal change and cyclical patterns; 3. observe natural harmonies, relationships between living things. Great question!
Where can we see some of your art on display? Line drawings of plants are currently on view at Southside, and an installation of paper cuts is up right now at David Lusk Gallery in Memphis (both through November 14th). Or, you could see one of my paintings in the lobby of the Graduate Hotel.
Favorite book or author: Many—Lately, I’ve been thinking about the natural settings and the relationships between people and animals in some of my favorite children’s books—like Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty.
Favorite quotation: Many, here’s one—
“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” Job 12:7–10
Favorite music/bands: Many—Lately, I’ve spent a lot of studio time with Bruce Levingston’s Still Sound. I’m also very thankful for Thad Lee’s steady supply of eclectic mixes.
What are some of your other hobbies? Horseback riding, travel
Where do you hang out in Oxford? I spend a lot of evenings at Cedar Wind Farm—training my two-year-old horse. I also enjoy the programming at the University Museum.
How do you think Oxford’s art scene could be improved? I would love to see group studio facilities on campus and in town—something like Marshall Arts or the Medicine Factory in Memphis.
Aspirations: To work faithfully and to see my work continue to grow and change.
Editor’s note: You can see more of Wolfe’s work at
carlylewolfe.com (and on the cover of this issue). And our Production Editor highly recommends any of the classes Wolfe teaches as Adjunct Professor at Ole Miss. 
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