Karen's hand painted black
and white images portray a surrealism in both her land and underwater images.
Her fine art images are currently in many private and corporate collections,
including those of Graham Nash and the Agfa Corporation.
"I love to hand color my favorite images. It gives me the freedom
to create a vision of the way I see the world. I get involved with
each image as I am working with it. For that period of time I am
there, in the photograph, and I am experiencing it in a new way.
I am able to personalize it by altering the colors and adding textures
to suit my mood or feelings at the time."
Film, Paper & Technique:
For many of my images I use Kodak High Speed Infrared B & W film. I prefer
to work on Agfa Classic 118 paper (previously Agfa Portriga 118). I apply Marshall's
Photo Oils with cotton swabs and loose cotton rolled into balls. I then rub
down the painted area until a "wash" of the colors I desire are achieved. I
highlight or add depth to certain areas of the print with the use of oil based
pencils or oil pastels. With certain images where I wish to show more texture,
I will use sable brushes of various widths, as they are appropriate. When the
piece "feels" complete, the print is allowed to air dry. I usually do not pre-treat
the print, but if there are large areas of sea or sky I may use PM Solution
before applying the oils. I prefer to work by instinct, as Developing the Art
of Seeing is a lifelong process.
|