Carolyn Arcabascio brings stories to life with illustrations

LACONIA — When artist Carolyn Arcabascio is asked to label her work, she has to stop and think for a moment. “People say my work is realistic and whimsical. I would call it stylized realism,” she said.

Whatever label one might put on Arcabascio’s art, it is foremost beautiful, full of bright and muted colors, and skillful illustrations, and it always tells a story that draws in the viewer.

Arcabascio is an artist and instructor at Lakes Region Community College. Her journey to become an artist started when she was growing up in Salem. “Like many artists, I have been doing art since I was a kid. I remember doing commission portraits of my classmates,” she recalled.

After high school, Arcabascio attended the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth and after college, worked as a graphic artist in Massachusetts. “My husband, Brett Robinson, and I wanted a change, so we decided to relocate to Laconia,” she said. Robinson works in the audio-visual department at Plymouth State University.

Once settled in Laconia, Arcabascio was searching for a place to draw and be among fellow artists. She found that place at a drop-in drawing group that meets regularly at LRCC. Serendipitously, it opened a door for her to teach a figure drawing course at the college in 2017; currently, she teaches in the college’s art and design programs.

Talking about students taking art and design classes at the college, Arcabascio said, “My favorite thing about teaching at LRCC is connecting with the students and seeing how an arts education shapes them.”

Along with teaching, Arcabascio is a skilled freelance illustrator for children’s and adult’s books and magazines. Her illustrations have appeared for organizations such as The Sierra Club, Atlas Games, LADYBUG Magazine, and PBS. Arcabascio loves the creative journey each piece takes her on and has worked hard to break into the sometimes challenging world of freelance illustration.

“I reach out to art directors and publishers with samples of my work,” she explained. “I do that as a regular practice.” Although Arcabascio is a highly skilled freelance illustrator and appreciated by art directors searching for freelance artists, getting seen is a lot of work and a job the artist does regularly to gain commissions.

“I have done cover illustrations for H.G. Wells books, and I am now working on a cover for the ‘Jungle Books’. I am also working on illustrations for a game.”

With such a wide variety of artwork, Arcabascio is always busy. She said, “I also write children’s books and my focus is work for ages 6 to 13.” Currently, she is shopping for a publisher for a children’s book she is writing.

Although people may assume writing a book for children would be easy, Arcabascio knows from experience it is anything but a quick project. To write a successful children’s book, she does child development research, learning what will appeal to each age level, and crafting images to fit certain portions of each book.

Along with projects keeping Arcabascio quite busy, this year she has been thinking about reaching out to the local community with her artwork. “I am not sure what direction that will take,” she said, “but it is a goal of mine.”

In light of that goal, Arcabascio donated one of her paintings to the Mental Health Art Auction presented and coordinated by the Lakes Region Mental Health Center. The painting, an abstract landscape, has been on exhibit at the Belknap Marketplace in Belmont, along with work from other artists. Proceeds from the auction help the center with mental health outreach efforts.

Arcabascio also was an exhibitor at the recent New England Coffee Festival. She found the experience to display her artwork in an outdoor area beside the Belknap Mill a good chance to meet and chat with the public and to network with other artists.

Summers are a busy time for Arcabascio, with her work on current freelance illustration projects, reaching out to publishers and art directors for possible assignments to illustrate everything from book covers to magazine story artwork to games. Along with this, she loves to write and said, “For me, it has always been a toss-up between art and writing, because I enjoy doing both.” It might seem a dilemma where to focus her talents, but it is in actuality an enviable skill to be able to write a story and also do the illustrations for that piece.

Arcabascio’s illustrations are works of art and could indeed be labeled as whimsical. But they are more than charming pieces of artwork. Each image takes the spellbound viewer into a world of colorful horizons, children taking a walk to explore a snowy path, deep and mysterious woods, and more. Her art’s appeal is immense and brings the words of a book to life for readers of all ages.

“I also try to find time to continue painting landscapes and other works in acrylics,” Arcabascio adds.

Should a reader — whether an adult or a child — pick up a book or magazine, they might be drawn in and delighted by an illustration created by Arcabascio. Her art could be described as whimsical, colorful, or stylized realism. However, for those entering the world of art she's created, it is simply magic.

Visit carolynarcabascio.com or follow on Instagram @carrie.draws to see more of Arcabascio’s work.