07 Feb Karen Werner Program: Oil Painting the Lively Still Life
Program: Tuesday, February 23 at 7:00 PM
The Redlands Art Association is pleased to have Karen Werner as our guest artist for February 2016.
Art has always been a part of Karen’s life, having grown up around paint. Her parents owned a sign company in Orange County where as a young child she tagged along, watching her father design and hand letter billboards, showcards and vehicles. The smell of paint and sawn wood was in the air, and a deep wooden drawer full of Prismacolor pencils would keep her drawing for hours on the floor of his office.
With the goal of teaching High School art, she completed her studio work as an art major with a drawing and painting emphasis at California State University, Fullerton. At the same time she began raising her own small children. As a result, the idea of teaching much younger children appealed to her. She changed direction, earned her Bachelors in Liberal Studies, her Masters in Education, and taught elementary school for sixteen years. During this time all of her creative energies went into teaching and raising her family. After some soul searching, Karen retired early from elementary education and happily returned to painting. She soon dedicated herself to painting daily, convinced that practice is the key to steady growth as an artist. Karen launched her blog in 2010 as a way to make her work visible to the public, joining a vibrant and growing online arts community.
Karen works in oil and watercolor, painting a wide range of subject matter. She enjoys variety and challenge, striving to paint with versatility whatever inspires her, from the simple to complex. Her goal is to paint realistically, but in a loose, poetic way. Karen works from her home studio, painting from life and occasionally her photo references. Her plein air work has taken her to various locations in Southern California, Oregon, Utah, Arizona and Colorado.
In addition to painting, Karen teaches watercolor classes in her home studio, demonstrates in oil for local art associations, and teaches still life workshops in oil.
Karen has received instruction from accomplished artists such as: Milford Zornes, Chris Van Winkle, Ratindra Das, Greg La Rock, Carol Marine, Joseph Todorovitch, Jennifer McChristian, Qiang Huang and Kim English.
Her oils and watercolors have won numerous awards in juried shows and are held in private collections throughout the United States and abroad. Karen lives in Chino with her husband and fluffy little studio dog. She has three grown children and seven grandchildren.
An accomplished, award-winning artist, Karen Werner, has been painting full time since leaving the teaching profession in 2005. She is a versatile painter, working in both oils and watercolor, painting a wide variety of subject matter: still life, landscapes, urban scenes, portraits and figures. She paints realistically, but in a loose poetic style.
During her program she will discuss her life’s journey as an artist, including her philosophy and techniques, as she works on a demonstration painting. Don’t miss the opportunity to see and hear this much sought after artist.
Program is FREE to all.
