Karen often paints en plein air in an effort to capture the essence of the landscape. Usually these plein air sessions are accomplished close to home in Northern California but she also enjoys traveling and recently spent a month painting in Italy. Exploring new places, whether at home or abroad, is a constant source of inspiration for her.

Karen moved to the San Francisco Bay Area from Atlanta, Georgia in 1989. She was immediately struck the by the natural beauty that enveloped her and was inspired to return to drawing and painting from the world of photography. She states: “I feel very fortunate to live in California surrounded by the magnificent landscape with its endless variety. Painting allows me to closely examine nature and I now notice everyday things that otherwise would have passed me by. Time slows down when you paint or sketch. It’s magical.”

She works in both the oil and pastel mediums and believes that one enhances the other. Currently she is primarily focusing on the figure and animals in the landscape and prepares by painting small studies outdoors in the plein air style. She believes that these studies improve the larger, finished pieces by enabling her to capture and recreate more accurate color and atmosphere. It also develops her “artist memory” when racing the clock and observing the rapid changes in light that only occur when painting plein air.