Woman with Shawl Painting

Karen graduated from the Illustration, Art and Design program from Sheridan College in Canada and worked as an Illustrator for many years before turning to painting and sculpture full time. 'My work has moved from semi realistic figurative work to figurative abstraction to completely abstract paintings. However, since I draw and paint from the live model weekly, I tend to produce both abstract and figurative/abstraction.....each informing and influencing the other. My work uses a very layered approach to achieve atmosphere, depth and ambiguity. Cold wax and oil, mixed with other media like charcoal and graphite, create a sense of history throughout the multiple layers. In all my work I strive for a balance between boldness and subtlety, definition and ambiguity, intention and 'happy accident'