We first met Karen on a four hour local Old Sacramento at Night Safari. After working with her just a short time, we realized she had a fantastic eye for composition. Later, Karen joined us on her first international Safari to Italy. It was here, that we realized we had a true artist on our hands. Karen has been working with “Photoshop” and “Corel Painter” for some time. At the time of the safaris, she did not have much of an understanding of the mechanics of the manual settings for her camera and was looking to improve her knowledge in order to give her a better foundation on her images for the art work she was producing.
Fast forward a year. Karen has traveled with us to Ireland, is signed up for Tanzania in 2015 and is being featured in galleries, she is leading her own style of “painting her photography”. Karen’s work is selling well and demand increasing, and she is continuing to grow as an artist. You can see more of Karen’s work, as well as learn more about her workshops at Painted Works by KB (site designed by Adam Furtado).
Q&A
MPA: Why do you love photography?
KB: Photography is fairly new to me ~ I picked up a camera about 5 years ago, and found that I loved shooting and processing. I like the fact that you can capture a single moment in a week, in a day, or in an hour. There will never be a repeat moment like the one you captured, be in in nature, an event or with people.
MPA: Your favorite thing about MPA?
KB:If you have questions, they have answers. Even if you don’t know what you would wish to ask, MPA can always advise or help and push you a bit further ~ often further than you knew you could go. And they do it without bugging you (smile).
MPA: Your favorite trip with MPA?
KB: I have two favorites. Italy, where we toured the most amazing places ~ Venice, Florence and the Cinque Terre Coast. I truly loved the color, the people, the culture and the charming fishing villages ~ places I would not have found.
And I loved the trip to Alcatraz. The history, the textures, the lines of the cell blocks and the whole eerie feeling of the place. I would take both of those trips again because there will always be something new and different to see. Your eye will always pick up something previously unseen.
MPA: Your aspirations as a photographer / artist?
KB: I always hope to continue learning. I am naturally curious about photography as an art, always exploring how to best present an image ~ I am drawn to the painterly aspects that can transform a photograph into something beyond what the lens sees. I experiment a lot with paint on the printed canvas.
MPA: Any info you want to share about yourself and work?
KB: I am a mixed media artist working on a daily basis. I incorporate technology to transform an image with what I hope is an artistic eye. I enjoy digital brushes to bring out a painterly feel in the work by pushing pixels. After processing, work is printed on canvas. Acrylic paints and mediums are added to the surface for more color and texture. I am always taking classes and workshops to learn more in this medium. Canvases are printed and gallery wrapped in my studio. Finished work is ready to hang. Some of the work is available at the ACCI Gallery in Berkley, Blue Line Art in Roseville and Bushnell’s Garden Shop in Granite Bay. Artworks are also available through the PaintedWorksbyKB.com website and or directly through me.
