Karen is a realist of a sort. She does imperial sized watercolours with a definitive eye for detail. She has been painting for over thirty years now, focusing on capturing those moments where civilization brushes up against time. She makes use of walls, windows, doorways and gates to describe the ways we look into and out of ourselves. We see lives lived through dramatic dispersions of light combined with delicate use of tone. There is a sense of pause in her work.

The interaction of water and stone has always fascinated her. Their irrefutable strength and their constant struggle on our planet are best described as soothing. Earth and water are the ultimate symbiotic pair, each striving for immortality. Karen uses all her favourite mediums to explore this compelling vision.The use of photography in the form of image transfers has opened the door to an unexplored, yet oft visited world. Using Polaroid technology, she transfers emulsion to paper and pushes beyond the border of the photo. It creates a kind of iconography that is both familiar and accessible.In the last few years Karen has painted over twenty sets at our National Arts Center in Ottawa. As a direct result of this experience, her own work has taken on a monumental scale.Born in Canada, her work is collected at home, the United States, Bermuda and Europe.

Updated:1/19/2008 Copyright 2007 Tay River Gallery