State-Journal.com - Frankfort Faces: Life according to Carla

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Photo By State Journal/Kelly Mackey Carla Phillips works on a mural for the Bluegrass Scenic Railroad and Museum in Versailles.

Photo By State Journal/Kelly Mackey Carla enjoys several mediums, but one of her strengths is painting murals. She has been asked to be the mural coordinator for the Frankfort Beautification Project connected with the 2010 World Equestrian Games.

Photo By State Journal/Kelly Mackey Carla works on a mural she painted during the 2008 Expo.

Born to a German physician and an Italian designer, Carla Phillips was fitted with a perfectly right and left brain.

The balance has suited her well, but these days, she's letting her bohemian side dominate.

"Painter-girl is back!" Carla says.

"This is my 50th year and the best part of my life. I've got the freedom to do what I want to do."

After many years at a design studio in Ohio, she decided to return to freelancing. She paints, designs logos and is becoming a locally respected muralist. She was asked to be the mural coordinator for the Frankfort Beautification Project connected with the 2010 World Equestrian Games.

In the sunroom of her Timothy Drive home, Carla is steadily working on her latest project - a Bicentennial Lincoln mural for the Bluegrass Scenic Railroad and Museum in Versailles.

Her practiced hand glides across the mural as she talks about her decision to give up a 9 to 5. She's determined to live with no regrets.

Carla loves to paint. She loves to put her imagination - or someone else's imagination - down in a visible way.

"There's nothing more exciting than meeting a client, learning what they have in their mind and being able to make that vision a reality."

Although she has topics she's interested in, she enjoys doing custom pieces for others.

"It's not like, "I do this. Do you want to buy it?'"

Jennifer Zingg, who owns a downtown studio and gallery, has worked with Carla on a few projects and says they share a similar appreciation for art.

"She understands what a gift she has," Jennifer said. "You become very appreciative when you know you were put here to do it."

Carla's diverse skill set and flexibility will help her, Jennifer said.

"What stands out to me is her drawing ability," Jennifer said. "She can draw the human figure probably better than most other artists I know. She has had a lot of training and is just a natural talent."

Jennifer also admires Carla's ability to tell a story through murals.

"She has such an ability to tie imagery together," she said. "It's brilliant. She can make a mural cross through a timeline with such fluidity that it's just beautiful not choppy or hard to understand."

Since childhood, Carla has loved the decorative fine arts, and frequent visits to Italy helped awake the artist inside her.

"The reflection of the blue Mediterranean colored everything," she said. "It was so intense. It woke up your senses. It was a different sensibility for me."

When it came time to pursue a career, Carla started out in the sciences, at the advice of her father. During that time, she was also searching for God in nature, and when she found him, she also discovered the courage to pursue art.

A new sense of self freed her to study at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago, where she earned a degree that has opened opportunities all over the world. (When she and her husband, Bruce, backpacked around the globe, she helped pay the way by working as a florist.)

Four years ago, Bruce and Carla decided they would start over in Frankfort - Bruce's grandfather, Otis Beam, was a master distiller in Frankfort, and being closer to family is what brought them to Kentucky.

"We drove into town clueless," Carla said. "We drove to the chamber of commerce to get a map."

At the chamber, they met Jim Burch, a former mayor and community leader who died last year. He greeted them with a smile, big blue eyes and kindness, Carla says.

Not only did he give them a map, but he also gave them the contacts they needed to get started, including his own cell number.

"This town is an inspiration to me," Carla says. "It's small enough that you can run into the same people. I love this community."

She also enjoys raising her two sons here. Augie, 16, is the musician of the family, and Derek, 13, is her hope for another artist.

"They are my real masterpieces," she says of her boys.

She also says she's thankful for her husband, who works as in Public Information for the Legislative Research Commission so she can spend time building her business.

"The old saying is "If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy,'" Bruce says. "This is her passion. I want to give her the space that she needs to develop it and make it go."

Bruce says his wife never stops being an artist.

"She just sees color and symmetry and composition everywhere we go, she'll notice the color of things or the combination of colors of things in nature or other artwork."

Carla describes her own style as realistic, detailed and rich in color. She enjoys painting the human form because "of all creation, we're God's masterpieces."

The warmth from her paintings shines in her own personality.

Outgoing and positive, she's the kind of woman who offers you a drink when you walk through her door or has a story to cheer you up when you're down. She's the kind of lady who cried when Michael Phelps won his eighth gold medal and the kind of artist who sees a beautiful sunset and sits down to paint it.

It's that optimism (and a great amount of faith in God and his goodness and beauty) that allows her to see things differently.

"Often times she speaks not about things as they are but about things as she wants them to be," Bruce said.

He and their sons call it "The world according to Carla."

And when others don't quite see it, all she has to do is pull out her brushes.

Carla's business name is Carla Canonero. Her artwork can be viewed at CarlaCanonero.com.

"Frankfort Faces" is a series that highlights people from within the Frankfort and Franklin County community. Each feature follows one of the city's most unique personalities and includes a story, photos and video, which can be found by clicking the TV icon attached to the story online at state-journal.com.

Want to nominate a "Frankfort Face?" E-mail Keren Henderson at khenderson@state-journal.com.