Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised on a small farm in the heartland near Peoria, Illinois, Carolyne Hawley has spent much of her adult life riding her Arabian horse in the Southern California desert. Her longtime association with horses was a major factor in contributing to an acclaimed collection of her Western influence paintings, including the powerful interpretations of horses for which she is well known. Additional subjects include landscapes, animals and figurative, rendered with the distinct style of Carolyne Hawley. She resides on a small ranch in the high desert rural community of Morongo Valley where she does most of her painting.

With national horse show participation and exhibits in major galleries throughout the United States since 1973, Carolyne has garnered top awards. Her artwork appears in the collections of the Palm Springs city hall with paintings of Ronald Reagan and Sonny Bono, the family collection of Boeing Aviation, the private collection of singer Faith Hill, and commissioned murals in the city hall of Indian Wells and in Palm Desert, CA.