She has been an artist for most of her life. In college, Karen concentrated her studies on art. She put her art away for a while to raise a family. When her sons were older, a friend saw some of Karen’s work and encouraged her to go back to school. Karen returned to school and renewed her study of drawing and painting. She quickly discovered that she would rather paint and draw than anything else. Karen received an Associate Degree in Graphic Design. She continued her studies with figure artist Jim Murray, painter Lee Kim, and is currently working with Diedre Burke. Karen feels that she has learned so much from each of them, and challenges herself with each piece that she decides to paint.
Living and traveling in the United States and overseas, Karen has found that art is something she can do anywhere. Karen states, “This world has so many beautiful things, I just can't stick to one subject. I like the challenge of painting a variety of subjects and in a variety of styles.” She feels that this variety keeps her excited about what she is doing and continues to learn and improve with each project. Karen’s work is taken from her own photographs. She carries a small camera with her everywhere. Her abstracts are memories, emotions, things she has enjoyed and not enjoyed in this life. Karen wants people to look at her paintings and find the one they can get lost in, find the one that speaks to them.
