Karen hasn't always been called an artist.  As the eldest daughter of ten kids, the first title she earned was that of "junior mom" because she grew up focused on taking care of others... helping her mother cook, clean, and care for her siblings.  Her early life in California and Texas wasn't all work, however.  She found a sense of wonder with the natural world on sunny California days spent on the beaches and cliffs of the Pacific Ocean.  In Texas, it was the open expanse of sky and dramatic storms that inspired her.  

She started a long and successful career in finance and human resources; a path which, in hindsight, might find contradictory to the creative we see today, but one that naturally leveraged the early "leadership training" of her family life.  "Businesswoman" and "mom" were quickly added to her life's resume and many of those years were spent in New Jersey.  The heavily wooded hills and lakes of the East Coast provided a new type of landscape to wonder at.  It wasn't until years later, after retiring, that she took her first art classes and found her creative passion.  "I credit my mother with getting me started", Karen says.  "She wanted a painting buddy!"

As she turned her focus inward and listened, the right side of her brain lit up with the urge to create.  On a path of exploration, Karen worked through acrylic, oil, and encaustic mediums.  Studies in portraiture, still life, plein air, and abstract forms further developed her interests and style.  Encaustic, an ancient form of painting many transparent layers with pigmented wax, emerged as her favorite medium.  She loves the freedom of the loose shapes, rich texture and bold colors that are possible, not to mention the torch she wields in the process! 

While she has painted many subjects, she returns again and again to the natural world.  Art has helped her see her life and the world around her with new colors, shapes, and ever-changing beauty. Now, Karen makes her home in the dramatic mountains of Park City with her husband, Richard, and enjoys frequent visits from their growing family and the next generation of little artists.  Life is good...