Original Oil Paintings by Karen Fox

Current Work

About

Artist Statement

Karen Fox at Deception PassI prefer serenity over conflict. Nearly any landscape, seascape, or animal inspires me, but I rarely paint anything man-made. What’s my initial focus, as I plan a painting? I look for lighting that transforms pretty into dramatic. I later blend realism and a dash of impressionism. I hope an observer feels emotion—that I’ve revealed the essence of a scene or creature.

I plan my composition carefully, but my painting energy is a mix of impulse and habit. First, I preempt distractions. Then I crank up my music. I begin with a value underpainting or wash of complementary colors—blocking in large shapes. Depending on mood, I frequently sing and dance during painting sessions that usually last three or four hours. I’m also hyperaware of my other senses, such as feeling paint spread like butter—or the canvas yielding to my palette knife, then rebounding. So for me, painting is both self-indulgent and self-exploratory.

I need variety and rotation of subjects. I only use oils and usually develop one painting at a time, and I avoid repeating a painting. I never project or trace images, but I sometimes use a grid for complex compositions. Finally, during studio painting I only use my own photos, displayed on a large monitor, unless I’m producing a commissioned piece from a client’s photo.

A rookie mistake in 1997 helped me focus my style. At a painting workshop in Taos, New Mexico, the instructor suggested I use a palette knife. He meant for mixing paint, but I assumed he meant I should actually paint with the knife. Surprisingly, my accidental experiment worked, giving my paintings a distinctive look. For over a decade I used only knives, but I’ve since reincorporated brushwork

For most of my urban life, wildlife included squirrels, dogs and maybe racoons. Rural living gave me a cast of engaging new characters including deer, coyotes, bears, sea lions, pelicans, ospreys, and eagles.

I love it when my paintings find good homes; so far, they’re owned by collectors in Colorado, Arizona, Illinois, Wisconsin, New York, Oregon, Washington, and Russia.

Bio

As a child, my eventual art career was first nurtured by my parents’ avocational artistic expression, but as a young woman, I accepted a then-prevalent notion that a secretarial career would best support me. I worked in Chicago and, later, Denver as a secretary; however, I soon realized it didn’t inspire me like art always had. Without resources other than my ability to work, I abandoned safety and enrolled in the Colorado Institute of Art’s Advertising Design Program, graduating in 1980.

Eventually, in 1997 I took a plein air landscape class at the Art Students League of Denver that truly inspired my obsession with painting. Unique scenery I’ve painted resulted both from intentionally leaving Denver, in 2000, for Vashon Island, Washington, and a pandemic that landed me unexpectedly in Ocean Shores in 2021. Meanwhile, the pandemic also impacted my advertising career, too, by ending it prematurely. More time to paint.


 

Resume

Solo Exhibitions

  • Sea Light, Tim Rossow Watercolors & Associates Gallery, Ocean Shores, WA (April-May/2024)
  • New Artist Reception, Tim Rossow Watercolors & Associates Gallery, Ocean Shores, WA (10/2023)
  • Art in the Library, Featured Artist, Ocean Shores, WA (8/2022)
  • Featured Artist, Cole Gallery, Edmonds, WA (2/2010)
  • Sonja Olsen Salon, Seattle, WA (10/2008)
  • Featured Artist, Cole Gallery, Edmonds, WA (6/2008)
  • Sonja Olsen Salon, Seattle, WA (10/2005)
  • Vashon Island Golf & Country Club, Vashon Island, WA (11/2002)

Group Exhibitions

  • Winter on the Washington Coast, Art Exhibit, Coastal Interpretive Center, Ocean Shores, WA (1/2022)
  • Miniature Show, Vashon Center for the Arts, Vashon Island, WA (12/2020)
  • 2020 VIPP Fur Ball Art Auction, Vashon Center for the Arts, Vashon Island, WA (10/2020)
  • VIVA All Member Show, Vashon Center for the Arts, Vashon Island, WA (10/2020)
  • 2020 Masquerade Gala Art Auction, Vashon Center for the Arts, Vashon Island, WA (9/2020)
  • Coastal Muses of Central Oregon, Vashon Center for the Arts, Vashon Island, WA (7/2020)
  • VIVA All Member Show, The Hardware Store Gallery, Vashon Island, WA (6/2018–2019)
  • Cole Gallery Anniversary Group Shows (1/2008–2014)
  • The Flower Show, Silverwood Gallery, Vashon Island, WA (2/2010)
  • The Bee Show, Silverwood Gallery, Vashon Island, WA (2/2008)
  • Group Show, Cole Gallery, Edmonds, WA (8/2007)
  • Chicken & Egg, Silverwood Gallery, Vashon Island, WA (2/2006)
  • Winter Light, Three-Person Show, Silverwood Gallery, Vashon Island, WA (2/2005)
  • If Wishes Were Horses, Silverwood Gallery, Vashon Island, WA (2/2004)
  • All Women Show, Community Care Center, Vashon Island, WA (2/2004)
  • The Hardware Store Gallery, Vashon Island, WA (1/2004)
  • Three-Person Show, Silverwood Gallery, Vashon Island, WA (11/2003)
  • Shake the Tree 7, Silverwood Gallery, Vashon Island, WA (12/2002)
  • Vashon Perspectives, Three-Person Show, Blue Heron Gallery, Vashon Island, WA (10/2002)
  • Coming Home, Three-Person Show, Silverwood Gallery, Vashon Island, WA (6/2002)
  • Salmon Show, Silverwood Gallery, Vashon Island, WA (2/2002)
  • Shake the Tree 6, Silverwood Gallery, Vashon Island, WA (12/2001)
  • Denver Invitational, Merrill-Johnson Gallery, Denver, CO (7/2001)
  • Western & Wildlife Show, Casper Artists' Guild, Casper, WY (4/2001)
  • 10th National Art Exhibition, NCAA, Fort Collins, CO (4/2001)
  • Light from the Mountain, Three-Person Show, Silverwood Gallery, Vashon Island, WA (4/2001)
  • Doug Dawson Landscape Painting Class Show, Art Students League of Denver, Denver, CO (4/2000)
  • Raising the Curtain, Third Canyon Gallery, Denver, CO (2000)
  • Christmas Showcase, Belleli Fine Arts Gallery, Denver, CO (12/1999)
  • Scenic Southwest III, Lake Powell, AZ (1998)
  • 11th International Exhibition on Animals in Art, Baton Rouge, LA (1998)
  • 15th Annual All Colorado Art Show, Greenwood Village, CO (1998)
  • Kim English Class Show, Art Students League of Denver, Denver, CO (3/1999)
  • Little Holiday Art Show, The Parker Cultural Commission, Parker, CO (12/1997)

Festivals & Studio Tours

  • AAOS Arts & Crafts Festival, Ocean Shores, WA (9/2023-2024)
  • Art Splash Studio Tour, Ocean Shores, WA (8/2022-2024)
  • Vashon Island Spring Art Studio Tour, Vashon Island, WA (5/2003–2008, 2015)
  • Vashon Island Holiday Art Studio Tour, Vashon Island, WA (12/2002–2010)
  • Strawberry Festival, Vashon Island, WA (7/2004-2006)
  • AQHA Misty Isle Ride 2004, Invited Vendor, Vashon Island, WA (8/2004)
  • Barnworks, Vashon Island Spring Art Studio Tour, WA (5/2001-2002)
  • Art Students League of Denver Summer Art Market, Denver, CO (6/1998–2001)
  • 35th Annual Evergreen Arts Festival, Evergreen CO (8/2001)
  • 33rd Annual Evergreen Arts Festival, Evergreen, CO (8/1999)
  • 5th Annual Clear Creek Celebration of the Arts, Wheat Ridge, CO (1999)

Awards & Distinctions

  • Honorable Mention, Vashon Island Plein Air Festival, The Hardware Store Gallery (9/2005)
  • Second Place, Vashon Island Plein Air Paint-off & Group Show, The Hardware Store Gallery (7/2004)
  • My painting, "A Hint of Lilac," selected to represent Vashon Island Garden Tour (6/2004)
  • My painting, "Harbor Trilogy," selected by Masterpiece Arts for web gallery promotion (2/2004)

Contact

206 - 496 - 3248

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