Carol is a Ballarat girl born and bred – she spent her formative years at McArthur Street Primary School and won a scholarship to Queens' Church of England Grammar School, where she was neither intellectually nor academically challenged, and often found herself teaching her fellow-pupils.

Her love of animals drew her to veterinary science as a career, but the only colleges offering the course were in Brisbane and Tasmania, so she opted instead to do a four year Art course at the Ballarat School of Mines and Industries, with a major in Painting and minor in Advertising.

After she married, she accepted a post in the advertising department of Myers, Chadstone, but her life took a different turn when she more or less drifted into teaching – at first by teaching a friend or two, and then accepting more pupils as her fame as a teacher spread.

In 1970 Carol and her group of artists decided to form the Waverley Arts Society. She was elected founding president. To everyone's delighted surprise, the inaugural meeting attracted 140 people.

Suddenly Carol had the major task on her hands of organising and producing the Society's first exhibition, within three months. 

She never looked back. Indeed, her busy life has so many facets that it is hard to imagine how she manages to face the world with such calm and confident sang-froid.

Looking at pictures of her dating back forty years, and seeing her still petite, elegant and serene, she has changed so little that I suspect she has a Dorian Grey-like portrait hidden in the attic!

Her love of animals is apparent, and not only in the pictures on the walls. Two Burmese cats are in residence, as well as a regal Afghan lady with exquisite feathered feet. 

In the large aquarium, exotic fish present a fascinating coup d'oeil, but Carol weaves her magic: in a few sentences, she makes me see, not pretty fish, but Piscine Personalities.

"She doesn't teach us to paint, she teaches us to see," one of them told me.

"Carol helps us all to be better artists in our own chosen style and medium", said another, "it has become a way of life to go to her class weekly".

Indeed, her students never "graduate": some of them have been in her class for twenty years. It is not just an art class, it is a little "family" of like-minded people who feel comfortable together, with Carol as their lodestone. To some it is a respite from the pressures of a busy life, others find refuge from anxiety or relief from personal anguish.

A vet, an artist or a teacher, this remarkable woman could also have been (and is!) a successful therapist. She is easy to confide in, and helps people to help themselves: to find confidence, peace of mind and in many cases a new sense of self-worth.

Does she come from a teaching family? "My mother was a teacher of Pitman's shorthand", says Carol with a twinkle, "but she always maintained that what she really taught, was English!"

Carol's sense of humour is evident, and she says she finds humour an invaluable teaching tool. She encourages her students rather than criticises them, but when she has to point out someone's shortcomings, a light, humorous touch takes the sting out. ("A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down", à la Mary Poppins!)

It is a long time since she herself painted, but the old saw of "he who can, does, and he who can't, teaches", certainly does not hold true in Carol's case, as the paintings in her living room attest. Her work has won awards and been publicly displayed since her student days.

At a party, recently, an eminent gynaecologist asked her: "How can you teach if you don't paint yourself?"

He should have known better than to mess with this lady: "Why, how many babies have you had?", she asked sweetly.

Is her family artistically inclined? … Her husband and daughter are professional photographers, she says, and her son is also a dab hand with a camera.  Her children grew up in an atmosphere of culture and were exposed to art in its various forms from an early age.

Her grandchildren, in turn, appreciate aesthetic values and her grandson's idea of a pleasant outing is a trip to an art gallery at Daylesford, where he spotted a sculpture it is his ambition to purchase. What bliss to be young enough to imagine that you can buy a piece of good sculpture by saving your pocket money! And what bliss for a grandmother to have a grandchild who saves for an artwork rather than a Nintendo game!

Carol also finds time in her 25-hour day to indulge her love of reading:

What is her favourite book? … "It would have to be T.H. White's 'The once and future king' ", she says after a bit of thought. King Pellinore's pursuit of the Questing Beast resonates with her – when he finally managed to catch up with the Beast where it was lying in the forest, sick to death, he didn't kill it, but nursed it back to health, gave it half an hour's start and set off again in cheerful pursuit.

Just so does Carol inspire her students to be in perpetual pursuit of artistic fulfilment. One should constantly aspire to something more: the goal is never to attain the goal.

William A. Ward said: "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires."

Everyone who knows her, will agree that Carol Boothman is a great teacher.

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