About Karen

Karen drew constantly as a child. She started with horses and then progressed to faces, where she found she could achieve a likeness fairly easily. She was very fortunate to have parents who were supportive of her creativity and provided her with lessons.

Life drawing was her favorite class in college, but she found work drawing ads for a furniture company and then later, commissioned paintings of military ships and aircraft. Eventually, she resumed life drawing studies and began to concentrate on portraits.

Now living in Florida, she has started painting more landscapes, having become fascinated by the vibrant colors in the water, skies and foliage of the area. She also has a stash of photos taken from travels, but always feels the need to do a portrait or figure painting. Towards that end she belongs to a group who meet once a week to draw from a model. She also studies during the winter season with master artist Ralph Garafola, who spends winters on the Gulf coast.