<< Previous Member - List of Members - Next Member >>
Karen Kluglein AssocSBA ASBA
Biography
Karen was encouraged in her artistic endeavours from an early age by her Mother who is also a watercolorist and their styles have an uncanny similarity which Karen supposes often happens. She has been drawing and painting for as long as she can remember and in high school was often told not to ‘doodle’ so much! The detail she puts into my paintings comes naturally. She has only recently concentrated on botanical work although she has always painted the natural world and was previously an illustrator. As an illustrator she worked on packaging and was known mainly for paintings of food which included a lot of fruits, vegetables, herbs, etc.
With botanical work she especially takes pleasure in making beautiful what most people would simply pass by. When choosing her subjects she think about the textures and details she will have to work with as well as the surface she will be working on, making notes of the colours before they inevitably change. She tries to capture the quality of the plant with Windsor and Newton watercolours and sable brushes building up color, contrast, and detail until complete.
Watercolor is Karen’s favourite medium because it is so fluid and transparent, dries quickly and can be worked over. Before beginning she sees in her mind’s eye how she would like the finished piece to look and it is a matter of making it happen! The goal is to make the painting as she envisions it with good design, form and sensitivity.
Karen lives in a pine forest in East Hampton, NY, whose beauty has given her unending subject matter and where she competes with the deer for garden specimens. Her work can be found at Susan Frei Nathan Fine Works on Paper, The Hampton Road Gallery, Southampton, NY, and the River Gallery, Chattanooga, TN. She is also a member of The American Society of Botanical Artists and the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, and has recently shown in the American Watercolor Society 2008 Exhibition, Richeson 75, National Small Works Show and Hunt Botanical Institute’s International Annual Exhibition.
Contact Details
Website: www.karenkluglein.com
Email: kkbullpath[at]aol.com