Artist Statement
My motivation to create art comes from a desire to interpret, preserve and share experiences of my everyday life. My previous professional and personal experiences have always straddled a line between practicality and creativity. Becoming an artist has been a journey of following my own instincts while continually learning from others. Every still life arrangement is set up in my studio and painted directly from life in several sittings. I paint from life directly so that my relationship to the subject is heightened at the moment in order to pass on that perception and experience to the viewer resulting in a painting that looks like a painting and not a photograph. I choose objects and arrangements to create the most aesthetically beautiful design, looking for a balance of value, shape, and negative space. I am always searching for a feeling of abundance, intimacy, and harmony.
Featured Collection
Bio
Karen Israel’s pastel paintings are defined by their dynamic compositions and unique viewpoints.She is influenced by the light and mood of the subject and lets those elements dictate her approach. These subjects are rendered with a strong appreciation for the rigors of formal design coupled with a fearless array of color choices.
Among her many awards, in 2020, she placed Fourth in Pastel Journal Magazine’s top 100 juried competition; in 2012 and in 2014, Third Place in the top 100 and she received an Honorable Mention in this same competition in 2018. She was recently designated the honor of Maxima Cum lade with the American Artists Professional League.
Karen conducts many teaching demonstrations and workshops for art organizations throughout the United States. Her teaching schedule can be found on her website: artbykarenisrael.com
Karen had been invited to participate in “Pastels of the World in Bourbonnais” honoring American Women pastelists April 20-June 20,2020. This exhibit and her workshop in France, sadly, has been postponed until 2022 due to the pandemic.
Recently, Karen’s work was featured in two page articles in Practique Des Arts: August 2020 Volume 53. and July 2018 Vol. 47.
Website publications include
Artsy Shark https://www.artsyshark.com/2020/06/30/featured-artist-karen-israel/
Featured artist spotlight, Let’s Go Arts https://letsgoarts.org/featured-artist-spotlight-karen-israel/
Realartrealartists https://realartrealartists.com/artist/karen-israel-pastel.html
From Start to Finish
Work in Progress
