{ A BIT ABOUT KAREN }

I've always believed that life is about people and the experiences that connect and divide us. Through art we get a window into a persons intimate experience of the world, which is pretty extraordinary and is what I love most about art. As I investigate the world around me through my own artwork, I gain a deeper understanding of myself — I can find and lose myself at the same time.

From a very early age I wanted to be an artist — to travel to Paris and set up my easel in Artist's Square, or live near the shore and paint "en plein air" like Monet. As an artist in Sarasota, Florida, I'm living the dream, although I took some detours arriving here. I spent 25 years working in advertising as a graphic designer and almost a decade as an art and photography teacher. Scattered between are hundreds of murals, portraits and landscapes in oil, acrylic, pastel and pencil. I never stopped painting and never forgot the dream.

Lately I've been working in oil and in a large format, painting some of the birds that are native to this area. It's been amazing to get up close and see their amazing personalities. My next series will be an exploration of portraits, focusing on musicians and artists. I want to express their free-spirited nature by using a looser and more expressive style. I'll be sure to post them so you can let me know what you think.

I hope you enjoy what you see.