Karen Scharer                     back to gallery artists

"My art reflects my faith in imagination and intuition, and my fascination with the natural world.  Through painting, my ideas and visions become tangible.  When I begin a work, I don't know how it will end, but everything I have seen and experienced influences the outcome.  I see each piece as an interaction -- a conversation – with the evolving painting.  This approach to creating art is extremely personal -- each piece is a unique result of who I am and how I relate to the world around me."

About the Process

My paintings begin as a series of loose glazes of color. As shapes and impressions emerge, successive layers of transparent and opaque color are applied to develop and enhance the structure, design, and impact of each piece. The layering process produces an infinite variety of hues and effects which cannot be achieved solely by mixing color on the palette. The interplay of contrast, movement, texture, balance, shape, line and color creates images that draw the viewer into the creative process, inviting them to see not just with the eye, but also with the heart. Inspiring the viewer to respond to the images I have created is a critical part of bringing each painting to life.

A Little Personal History

Although I was born to artist parents and showed some early interest in drawing and painting, I did not give in to the urge to paint seriously until the mid-1980s.  I graduated from the University of Montana in 1975 with a degree in forestry, a reflection of the love of the outdoors that I learned from my father at an early age.  In 1976, a job with the Forest Service took me from Montana to Boise, Idaho and eventually led to a job with IBM.  In 1985, I married my husband Al, and moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico.  It was there that I began to paint, with tremendous teaching and support from some remarkable artists, and I quickly began showing and selling my work.  In 1991, Al and I moved to Colorado.  Finally, in 1997, after 17 very educational years, I left IBM to devote my time to my art.

Today, I live and work outside Estes Park, Colorado (just a short drive from Rocky Mountain National Park), where my studio is surrounded by thousands of acres of National Forest. From my windows I can see amazing sunrises and watch beavers and ducks going about their day on the lake below. It's a good life, and I am truly grateful to be living it this way.

website: www.ScharerFineArt.com