about the artist

Karen grew up in the wine country of Stellenbosh, South Africa. It was there that she spent many afternoons riding horses with her sister and dogs and soaking up the rich colors of the landscape surrounding their home. Karen's earthy palette - chocolate browns, ochre, olive, deep blues and burnt reds are drawn from the landscape that surrounded her. And much of what she paints today are tapestries of her memory and imagination.

Karen has been drawing and sketching throughout her life. Her love affair with painting began over a decade ago when she attended an art exhibition and knew that she had to paint. She enrolled at the local art school, situated in an old wine cellar, and learned to paint.

Shortly thereafter, she relocated with her family to California, and continued to paint constantly. A short course in painting at the college of Marin helped to evolve her tecniques further.

Her paintings have been featured on the cover of Sundance Catalog, and have been purchased by collectors across the United States, as well as Europe, South Africa and Australia, and can also be found in homes of celebrities.

If you were to stop by Karen's home, you would find collections of ostrich egg shells and guinea fowl feathers from South Africa, as well as shells from Zanzibar, seaglass from Mexico and milagros from Santa Fe - "all these wonderful things give me inspiration for my paintings".

She currently lives in Santa Barbara with her family, two dogs, two budgies and a cat named Cobweb.