I am unashamed to say that I love painting, drawing and sculpting the figure….even though nudes don’t seem to be the trend right now. The fact that human beings have been reproducing images of other human beings for thousands of years blows my dress up….but even more, the process of making the figure in art blows my mind creatively. It’s obvious to me that there is a need for humans to depict themselves in art that seems…well, eternal.
While drawing a model, out of the blue it hit me that after years of being an oil painter and drawer, I could create in a different voice… with watercolor. So I set out to do it. Then in another ‘aha’ moment, I thought I could learn to sculpt the figure. Going 3-D three years ago really opened up a new world for me! I don’t feel any need to to stay within one discipline…that would just slow me down in my creative efforts.
For me it’s all about identity: who are you? You’re not a tree or a horse or a building…you are a unique spirit housed in a human body. I want the images I make to resonate with you and connect you to yourself. I want to you empathize with that image of a person, whether it’s a large clay sculpture or a small watercolor, and in it, find something of yourself.
My daughter commissioned Karen to draw a portrait of me playing bass guitar. This was a complete surprise presented to me for my 60th birthday, and now hangs proudly in my home. It is a spectacular drawing — absolutely captures the moment and the mood! Karen is a very talented artist — this is a work I will treasure for my lifetime, and will be treasured by my family after I’m long gone!
I commissioned Karen to paint individual portraits of my twins a few years ago. They were 10 years old at the time, and I am so pleased with the great job she did of capturing them at that age. They are almost teenagers now, so Im especially glad to have these watercolor memories that I see every day on my wall.
My husband and I have been collecting Karen’s paintings and drawings for many years. We live in Montana, and recently purchased a watercolor online via PayPal and had a beautiful painting shipped to us in a week – we love Karen and her art!
