Fun Facts About Karen

  • Rules? What Rules? I realized I needed to paint as I truly see the world - a constant collection of images, textures, ideas, colours, events that move me. Through expressionism I can blend these elements into a visual feast that captures this array of thoughts. I like to be spontaneous and joyous and free of onerous guidelines and limitations. As my now deceased Aunt Alice declared - ‘I Was Never Good With Rules’. It runs in the family.

  • I love anything rusty or old

  • Give me stripes every day...I don’t know why

  • I adore living in small spaces

  • The best adventure of my life was taking a year and sailing to Mexico and Hawaii with our two teen-aged boys and the cat and dog on our 42 foot boat Karina1 - it still informs my life in some way every single day.

  • My father made his living through art for his entire life - illustrator, commercial artist, portrait artist, antique collector

  • I was told I would be an artist from the time I was very young - I guess they were right

  • Give me the coffee and no one gets hurt

  • My mother loved to dance anywhere and any time...me too

  • Somehow I met a young man when I was 20 who has loved me every day of his life ...poor guy🤣

  • Life can be tough at times and Ive been there but its also pretty darn grand

  • I got educated in the formal world of art but I didn’t pay much attention to the rules

  • The inspiration happens most days but doesn’t always make it to fruition - oh well

  • I love being an artist - good thing because I seem to have no other choice

  • I think long then paint fast

  • Beautiful sights make my heart flip - all my antennae go off

  • My boys are both incredibly creative although they haven’t fully emabraced being artists

  • I think of giving it all up at times but it always sneaks back in

  • Subject Matter - Anything that ‘turns my crank’ and gives me a shiver

  • Favourite artist - Matisse - I have taught and lived in his home Villa le Reve - we can relate!

  • Favourite Colour - the earthy warm ones - I dislike feeling cold

  • Media - Anything simple enough for someone like me to learn

  • Problem Area - Time management - there not enough hours in any given day

  • Question - What Kind of Art Do I Do?
    Answer - My work is emotional, expressionistic and always begins from a place of passion. As an expressionist I see what I want to paint but I paint how it makes me feel and rather than attempting to replicate it visually. I am not good with rules...what rules? The subject matter can vary but the emotion that ignites the painting is excitement....knowing that I must paint this thing. My trademarks are loose strokes, unrestrained colour, mixed media and big feeling even on small canvases. There is often some mystery. The landscapes are vast and disappearing, the paintings of women are seemingly on a journey, the rooms are grand, antiquated and somewhat crumbling, the faces are courageous but vulnerable and the florals are messy and beginning to crumble... they are all involved in a visual journey. It all seems to be a metaphor for life - examining vulnerability, imperfection, beauty, patina and risk taking.