 Professor William Gerdts wrote extensively of Carlsen and his aesthetic sensibility in his book on American still life painting "Painters of the Humble Truth" and he describes the objects in the paintings as 

...often lacking in traditional beauty, What makes the paintings beautiful is Carlsen's sensitivity in arrangement - large shapes are juxtaposed with small flat forms and tall ones, their outlines are often united in refined harmonious curves.and are placed backward and forward on their limited support surface to allow for "breathing room," for slow movement in space.The art historian Richard Boyle also noted Carlsen's craftsmanship, in his book American Impressionism, states