Born in the UK, Karen came to Australia as a very small child. She has lived in the South West since 1989 and on her Jacka Road property since 1991. She is happiest living in the country and finds constant inspiration for her art through walking and working on 140-acres of bushland.
Since graduating from Teachers College in 1985 and a BA in Visual Arts from Canberra School of Art in 1988, Karen has maintained her studio practice alongside her career in primary school art education. She is a multidisciplinary artist who derives great pleasure from developing mastery of materials. With a strong grounding in observational drawing, Karen has developed as an artist through her enjoyment of experimentation. She has participated in Margaret River Region Open Studios since its inception and submits her art to group exhibitions and wins awards.
Karen works on a large, high conservation forest block 23 kilometres from Busselton. Her studios are full of of things, books, old glass bottles, skulls, flotsam and jetsam, shells and and stones, mementos from her life. The studios are surrounded by sheds, farm equipment, gardens, a greenhouse and the forest. Here she paints and creates three-dimensional works from natural and man-made materials.
“I make artworks that allow me to think and learn about different sections of ecology. Through making, I share the beauty of the natural world with my viewers, prompting thoughts about nurturing habitats world-wide to regain our balance with nature.” It’s an adventure into the heart of Busselton dairy country to find Karen’s rural property, and in September visitors can see the Australian forests in their full glory.