Carol Waite developed an interest in art during private lessons as a young woman.  She majored in Fine Arts at the George Washington University and studied painting and drawing at the Corcoran Gallery.  At the Corcoran she worked mostly with oils and pastels, as well as ink and pencil, and enjoyed painting figures and portraits.

Ms. Waite has always loved the beauty and peacefulness of nature, especially flowers and birds.  Growing up in Japan, she appreciated their respect of nature and the beauty of artful arrangement.  After working in oils for many years, she discovered joy in working with Sumi ink on rice paper, developing strong brush strokes to depict the forces of nature. She studied Sumi-e, Oriental Brush Painting, at the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, winning plaudits at an Art League show there.

Sumi-e paintings by Ms. Waite have been shown in a one-person show at the Ramp Gallery in McLean, Virginia and are on display at several restaurants in Arlington and Fredericksburg.  Her paintings have been accepted by the National Sumi-e Society at juried shows in New York, Florida, Virginia, Minnesota, Maryland, Alabama, and Washington, DC.  She has also shown in Richmond, VA, and several shows in Solomons, Maryland, at Annemaries Garden, associated with the Smithsonian Institution.  Numerous paintings are in private collections.  She is a member of the Brush Strokes Gallery in Fredericksburg  (www.brushstrokesfredericksburg.com) and the jArlington Artists Alliance  with galleries in Crystal City Underground and Gallery Clarendon where her paintings displayed.

Ms. Waite also published a book, "Taken in Hong Kong, December 8, 1941," describing the ordeal of her father who was caught there during WWII as a civilian where he witnessed the Japanese invasion and was interned in Stanley Prison before being repatriated.