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Karen Larson Turner
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For Karen Larson Turner, becoming an artist was the natural continuation of her favorite
childhood pastime. Her earliest memories include hours spent on the floor with a
sketchbook, producing countless drawings from her imagination. Later, she discovered
the joy of drawing and painting from life.
A summer resident of Martha’s Vineyard, Karen’s first plein-air paintings were inspired
by the island’s historic Victorian architecture, and by the age of fourteen she was taking
commissions for house portraits. Her parents’ gift of a portable French easel furthered
Karen’s enjoyment of outdoor painting. She learned to work on tourist – packed
sidewalks, where knowing how to talk and paint at the same time became necessary; she
also learned how to paint with one hand and brace the easel with the other on particularly
windy days, and how to capture shadows quickly before the light changed.
Turner graduated from Calvin College in 1991 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. In 1992, her
love for the craftsmanship of traditional oil painting inspired her to further study at the
School of Representational Art in Chicago, Illinois. Modeled after the 19th century
Atlier system, SORA provides mentorship of three master painters for students
embarking upon rigorous study of classical technique. Turner completed four years of
study with the school, honing a mastery of anatomy, the figure, portraiture, and the still
life. Her final year was devoted to one major work – “Thirst”, a visual parable standing
over six feet tall and involving five human figures.
After completing the program, Turner set to work as a full time painter, exhibiting in a
variety of galleries and accepting private commissions. Although she divides most of her
time between still lifes and landscape painting, she usually has something in progress
involving the figure. These are long-term projects that involve hiring models and
creating numerous sketches to find the best possible composition. Karen’s favorite
approach to painting is to express ideas through metaphor and allegory. Still life work
appeals to Karen’s love for detail and texture – thin, painstaking layers of paint reveal the
reflective surface of silver or the ripeness of a peeled lemon. In contrast, landscape work
brings a freedom and spontaneity to her brush as she seeks to capture the effects of light
and shadow in painterly strokes.
“While in Charleston, I have rediscovered the joys of these subjects in my oils, and I have
remembered the reasons I first began to paint. There are countless images before us
wherever we go: the curve of a road, the fleeting shadows on a porch, a formation of
clouds. Those scenes which cause us to stop and stare, if only for a moment, those things
that inspire awe or contemplation…grand or humble…these are worthy to be
remembered.”
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Felice Z- Designs
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"A room hung with pictures is a room hung with thoughts."
Sir Joshua Reynolds
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