DORSET - Artist Caryn King will be presenting her work in a solo show at the Dorset Public Library during December. The public is invited to meet the artist at the opening reception on Saturday, Dec. 1 from 11-1 p.m. King is a narrative painter who began her artistic career with clay. After 14 years of making her living as a sculptor, intermingled with a few years earning her BFA in illustration and stints as a toy designer and an art teacher, King came home to painting.

"I always said I would paint someday if I could figure out what to put on the blank canvas," she explained. "Then I hit on it, and I have been painting non-stop ever since. I do this full time, seven days a week, and I love it." You may see more of her work at her Web site: www.carynking.com.

Caryn King raised her children in the Boston area, moved to Martha's Vineyard, and now lives on a mountain in Vermont. "I love being part of such a strong and welcoming community. I find it amazing that the essence of original country life remains in Vermont, given the amount of building and expansion that has taken place. Many of my paintings celebrate the beauty of country life and its (animal) occupants." As you would expect from a former clay artist, texture is very important to King's paintings. This feature is one of the things that allows her animal paintings to become intensely expressive without becoming sentimental. "I love the process of painting, the textures and effects the paint creates," says King.

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"Sometimes the drag of the brush and the layers of paint that show through are my primary goals." The paintings also emphasize a tactile appreciation of the animals themselves.

"I love the beauty of the animals - their texture and their fur," King says. She believes the animals she paints reflect a peace that sometimes seems so elusive to humans.