Carol Haigh was born in England and has lived on Saltspring Island since 1955 when her parents immigrated to Canada. Her family lived on high bank waterfront overlooking Trincomali channel at the north end of the island. Their lives naturally revolved around pursuits on or near the sea. They owned a succession of small boats that they would fish from or use to explore the islands close to their home. Eventually her father built a 40 foot trimaran and in this boat the family sailed across the Pacific to the South Sea Islands and beyond. The voyage was formative for Carol. It opened her eyes to the vastness and beauty of the ocean. The allure of the sea, the quality of light on water and the feeling of expansiveness of open horizons and big skies has never left her. The sea has continued to be a source of inspiration for many of her paintings. Wherever Carol travels she is drawn to ocean vistas with a view to future painting potential.
Sailing has remained an important part of Carols’ life. She continues to sail her classic boat “Korari” around the local waters in the summer months. “Korari” has featured in many of her paintings over the past thirty years.
Carol began drawing and painting at a very young age. She came from a big family of girls and their mother would sit them around the table with paper, paints and crayons to keep them occupied. Carol found that she had a natural talent for drawing. Always a dreamer, it was easy to see what her life direction was going to be. At the age of seventeen she left her first painting on consignment at a gallery in Tahiti. In Australia she had an exhibition of paintings at a friends’ home. In New Zealand she also painted. On her return to Saltspring she continued to dabble in art over the next few years but it wasn’t until her two children were both in school that she started painting seriously.
Being self taught Carol has developed her own particular method of using acrylic paints in thin washes to build up intensity of colour. Her paintings have been referred to as realism, photo realism or magic realism.
Carol is captivated by the way the sun catches the movement of water. The colours in a breaking sea and the translucence of the ocean delight her. Studio time is a time of richness of being. It is meditative and challenging all at the same time and is profoundly rewarding. Woven in with the act of painting is a deep regard for her subject matter and gratitude for the opportunity to communicate her vision of what is beautiful and fragile in the natural world.

Solo exhibitions:

Steffich Fine Art, Saltspring Island B.C. – the ocean series – 2007
Thunderbird Gallery – Saltspring Island B.C. – 2005
Naikai Gallery – Saltspring Island B.C. – 2001
Winchester Galleries – Victoria B.C. – 1999
Naikai Gallery – Saltspring Island B.C. – 1998
Naikai Gallery – Saltspring Island B.C. – 1997
Naikai Gallery – Saltspring Island B.C. – 1996
Naikai Gallery – Saltspring Island B.C. – 1995
Naikai Gallery – Saltspring Island B.C. – 1994
Orcas Gallery – Saltspring Island B.C – 1992

Group Exhibitions:

Ian Tan Gallery, Vancouver B.C.- winter group show 2025
Steffich Fine Art Gallery Saltspring Island – showing of new works and opening of new gallery. May 15th, 2024
Ian Tan Gallery, Vancouver B.C. – Summer Group Show – 2018
Ian Tan Gallery, Vancouver B.C. – Winter Group Show – 2018
Ian Tan Gallery, Vancouver B.C. – Summer Group Show – 2017
Ian Tan Gallery, Vancouver B.C. – Winter Group Show – 2017
Ian Tan Gallery, Vancouver B.C. – Summer Group Show – 2016
Ian Tan Gallery, Vancouver B.C. – Winter Group Show – 2016
Ian Tan Gallery, Vancouver B.C. – Summer Group Show – 2015
Ian Tan Gallery, Vancouver B.C. – Winter Group Show – 2015
Steffich Fine Art, Saltspring Island B.C. – Small works – 2007
Peninsula Gallery, Sidney B.C. – On the Edge – 2003
Vortex Gallery, Saltspring Island B.C. – 10 Saltspring Island Realists – 2002
Fran Willis Gallery, Victoria B.C. – 1998