Color has always excited Karen. Some of her earliest memories involve the feeling of exhilaration when opening a new box of crayons or paint set. Now as an adult she is surrounded by the vibrant Charleston coast, and is inspired to draw the colors of her environment into her art. She chooses to work with acrylics because they allow her to add layer after layer of color, just as they occur in nature. Karen loves the challenge of capturing light and shadow and the way they subtly change colors and shapes. Sunlight sparkling on the ocean, shadows created by overlapping papery flower petals, the array of hues as the sun sets over water or the way light plays with liquids in a vase or bottle: these are the images that enliven her art. “Color! What a deep and mysterious language, the language of dreams.” Paul Gauguin