CAROLINE ITALIA

aroline Italia Carlson is a fine artist and the owner of Caroline Italia, a digital agency that provides web and print design, podcasting services and instruction, audio and video editing, and copywriting. She is also the creator and host of the Passionate Painter Podcast.

Caroline has shown her fine art in galleries in New York, California, Wisconsin, and Michigan, including exhibits in SoHo, NYC. She has won numerous awards for her drawings, paintings, and photographs.

A New Yorker, Caroline is the daughter of a craftsman and an artist. She studied art formally from the age of six, taking courses in drawing, painting, and sculpting at Hofstra University while attending elementary school.

Caroline became skilled with an airbrush in high school and went on to incorporate it into her business through muraling and clothing art.

After studying fine art and science for two years at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Caroline completed her bachelor of art degree in visual art and a minor in art history at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. After college, she relocated to New Jersey and studied illustration and graphic design at the Joe Kubert School, digital design at Morris County School of Technology, and web development at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Throughout her career, Caroline has continued the development of her skills through the AQUENT Springboard web design and development program in Boston, MA, and through online programs, including Seth Godin's Marketing Seminar, Amy Porterfield's Digital Course Academy, and Marie Forleo's B-School. A perpetual student, Caroline is a voracious reader and continues to study fine art, marketing, and business.

Early in her career, Caroline cut her teeth in the pressure cooker of East Coast marketing firms, where the creative energy and intense deadlines refined her talents and honed her work ethic.

Upon moving to the west coast in 1999, Caroline began art directing magazines and did a deep dive into web design using HTML, CSS, and WordPress.

Caroline's California years included almost a decade of working volunteering at Living Free Animal Sanctuary, a non-profit animal rescue in the San Jacinto mountains where she had the privilege of living with her husband and two sons.

In 2013, Caroline relocated to central Wisconsin with her husband Steve, their two sons, three dogs, and two cats. There, she applied her wide range of traditional and digital art skills in both the corporate environment and remotely through her own small business.

Caroline made her foray into podcasting in 2017, while Director of Marketing and Creative Design for the National Wellness Institute. She launched the Passionate Painter Podcast in 2019 to provide education, inspiration, and encouragement to artists all over the world. As her audience continues to grow, the show continues to be a source of joy and community for her.

In 2020, Caroline and her family made their long-anticipated relocation to Upper Michigan. Possessing the heart of a teacher and motivated by helping others, Caroline enjoys teaching local workshops through the William Bonifas Fine Arts Center while she paints and works part-time in her digital firm.

In 2022, Caroline launched her online portrait masterclass, The Portrait Code, as well as seven stand-alone spotlight courses for fine artists.