Artist Statement

After retirement 10 years ago I started painting landscape and seascapes full time with soft pastels on Wallis sanded pastel paper. It is truly a life time process that never ends. Formal art training would have been nice to speed up the learning process however in my case I am self taught. Painting nearly every day, visiting galleries, reading art books, and taking workshops is my art training. A certain portion of art making comes from the unconscious, that is, not premeditated. I try to paint more from an emotional response to nature and I am attracted to the shapes, texture and colors of a subject and try to maintain a rhythm and movement while ignoring or worrying about accurate depiction of the subject.

I am also experimenting with abstract form based on landscapes using oil bars, and mixed media. My current focus is on the use of texture and shape to arrive at a visually balanced painting. This process has had an impact on my soft pastel paintings by adding more movement and rhythm.

At the end of his life, Renoir said that he was just beginning to lean how to paint so I guess I have a long way to go.

Biography 

My paintings are a response to the patterns, shapes and rhythm I see in nature. I enjoy painting the Southwest as well as the Northwest landscape. I am an intuitive painter and have a strong desire to express how I feel about the beauty I find in nature. Living on Whidbey Island provides a variety of scenery that change in color and texture each season. The interaction of different colors as well as the resulting texture on sanded pastel paper is very important in my work. I do not hesitate to use colors which may not be visible in the natural landscape if it adds interest and excitement to the paintings. I limit preliminary sketching and paint Plein Air as well as from reference material. I have only a vague idea of what the finished painting will look like and am willing to change my game plan during the painting process. Using an under painting, allowing it to show through the pastel, gives more depth and textural interest and often seen in my work. I am currently experimenting with oil bars which give my landscapes a more abstract quality which I like. Again, the texture quality of the completed oil bar painting is very important to me.

I have been fortunate to attend workshops with Susan Ogilvie, Richard McKinley and Bill McEnroe and have no formal art education. I enjoy using a soft pastel such as Unison, Schmincke or Sennelier and a LaCarte or Wallis sanded pastel paper. At the moment my paintings are landscapes, particularly of the Northwest and Southwest.

I am a member of the:

Northwest Pastel Society, (signature member), Special Activity Person and (Past Vice President)

CLASSES

I give pastel classes in my studio on Whidbey Island. Classes are 1 to 4 students which allows a lot of individual attention which you do not get in a class of 18 students. Classes range from ultra beginning to more advance instruction. For more information I can be reached at karenschroeder@coupeville.net

 

GALLERIES

Karlson/Gray Gallery, Langley, WA

Serendipity Gallery, La Conner, WA

Lakeshore Gallery, Kirkland. WA

Lemontreeonline.com

COLLECTORS

Good Samaritan Hospital, Puyallup, WA—16 pastel landscape paintings

Highline Hospital-Riverton Campus, WA—15 watercolor and pastel paintings.

St. Joseph Hospital, Bellingham, WA—2 pastel landscape paintings

 

RECENT SHOWS AND AWARDS

2007 NPS Member Show-Honorable Mention

2007 Coupeville Art Show-Honorable Mention

2007 Published in Best of America Pastel Book

2007 Show Lemontreeonline.com (May)

2007 Show Jeffrey Moose –Roosevelt Hotel, Seattle (May)

2007 Show Jeffrey Moose Gallery, (March)

2006 Show Gaskill/Olsen Gallery (May)

2006 Lemontreeonline.com show (May)

2005 Show Gaskill/Olsen Gallery (Sept)

2005 Invitational Show-www.lemontreeonline.com (May)2001 NPS Members Show

2004 NPS International Open Exhibition

2004 NPS Honorable Mention Members Show

2002 Three Artist Show at Gaskill/Olsen Gallery

2002 Invitational Show at the Issaquah Gallery

2001 NPS Members Show

2001 Invitational Show at the Issaquah Gallery, Issaquah WA

2001 Show at the Seahurst Gallery during July and August.

2001 Pastel Society of Oregon Members Show-$300 Merchant Award

2002 NPS Open Exhibution

2004 NPS Directors Award Members Show

2003 Show at the Artswest Gallery

2003 Show at the Gaskill/Olson Gallery

2003 Invitational Show at the Issaquah Gallery

2002 APOW Award