Karen Watland's "Artist Statement"
My creativity has assumed many forms throughout my life. I believe I have settled upon the finality of what my artistic endeavors represent to me. Expressing my experiences and how I view the world using color, form and brush stroke seems to give me the greatest joy.
Continuing my own education through art workshops, books and viewing the masters will always be a constant. Realizing my own style of impressionism and seeking truth in that medium is what I strive to communicate. It is always a bonus when others understand those hard earned brush strokes, lending to wordless visual expressions.
Painting with the medium of acrylics, watercolors, or oils have been the mainstay of my work. I also practice life drawing and landscapes, often with charcoal, pen or graphite. Digital photography also captures my experiences and helps with composing for the final decisions of a painting. I feel a strong pull towards figurative study. My focus for the future will be to expand on storytelling using the images I have gathered over the years.
Mentoring artists new to the discipline is another area where I derive great pleasure. Being with like-minded artists motivates me to share the understanding, purpose and joy in producing art. I will be forever grateful to my weekly class instructors; workshop instructors, other artists and friends that have encouraged and helped along the art journey and for all the master's works I have had the opportunity to view and admire.
Karen Watland's "Artist Biography"
Colorist, Impressionist, Expressionist, and Representational are all terms Karen uses to describe her art that has been building momentum since 1998 when she took her first painting class. She didn't stop there, as art classes and workshops took over her life after retiring from a novelty chocolate business she created and shared with her husband for 10 years during the 80's and 90's. This afforded her experience in crafting and designing molds, selling product, creating colors in white chocolate and showing at the bi annual Wholesale Shows at Associated Grocers, Seattle and Portland Gift Shows. Being creative has always fed Karen's spirit and so it was necessary for her to get serious about one direction that could sustain her for a long time.
You won't find just one subject or medium in Karen's work as she prefers to keep her art fresh with new explorations. Karen believes that each subject warrants a particularly unique nuance to convey its message to the viewer. That freedom affords her a vision that is endless, exciting and enduring.
A native of Washington State, Karen always had horses in her pasture as well as experienced their strengths camping with them in the Wilderness. Recently deciding that they were taking up precious painting time, she sold them in lieu of just imagining the horse's spirit and creating it on a two dimensional surface. Having done just about everything you can do with a horse during those years has helped her to express and capture that memory, the true spirit of the horse. That strong dedication to her new found love of art, shows in her constant studying and immersing herself in every aspect of painting genre. You can find Karen in the wilderness still, sketching and painting nature as those independent experiences are what give her direction and meaning to her art. She shares those memorable scenes of living close to nature in her artwork.
Encouraging other artists, volunteering in art organizations, consolidating art workshops and festivals, hosting art galleries, and donating art work for fund raisers has also been instrumental in Karen's development as an artist and art advocate.
Karen's influences are from masters of the past and present. The list is always growing, however, the most prominent that have meaning to her art direction at present is the excellence of Huihan Liu, the brushwork of Zhaoming Wu, the sensuality of Pino, the stories of Howard Terpning, the sensitivity of Richard Schmid, the mood of Zorn & Fechin, the drawings of Rembrandt, the grandiosity of Sargeant, colors of Sorolla, and the brilliance of Robert Henri.
"My paintings are created from a desire to see something, but not all, of what stirs my emotions as I begin to paint. Many are created directly from my imagination and those that started from subject matter I saw usually are turned into my unique expression of it. After painting a piece I always have a strong connective feeling to it, which I believe is a derivative of true creativity." Karen Watland
Art Education
Weekly Classes - Liana Bennett, ( Representational Painting) Bothell, WA 1998-2000
Don Brontsema, (Espressionism Painting)Ellensburg, WA 2001-2006
Workshops - 1998-2019: Juliette Aristades, Zhaoming Wu, Ned Mueller, Richard Robinson, Liana Bennett, Jim Lamb, Robert Krogle, Craig Srebnik, Dianna Shynne, Diane McClary, David Taylor, Robert Long, Graham Flatt
Trade School
Peterson's ITT School of Business
1968-1969 Certificate of Completion - Business Automation
Solo Exhibitions
2014 1st Annual Roslyn Art Festival, Roslyn, WA
2014 69th 49er's Days, Winthrop, WA
2013,14,15 Back Country Horseman Rendezvous Show, Ellensburg, WA
2005-2015 Roslyn Art Walks, Roslyn, WA
2003-2020 Carpenter House Museum & Art Gallery,
Yearly Solo Show - Main Floor, Cle Elum, WA
2006 Farmers Insurance, Ellensburg Art Walk
2007 & 8 Edward Jones Investments, Ellensburg Art Walk
2010 Amazing Frames, Ellensburg Art Walk
2011-present The Brick Saloon, Roslyn, WA
1985-1993 Seattle Gift Bi-Annual Show for Loveable Chocolates
Group Exhibitions
2015-2019 Western Art Association National Show (3rd weekend in May) Ellensburg, WA
2014 Northwest Experience Clymer Museum Juried Show
Juror's Gregg Schlanger, Michael Lewis, Ellensburg, WA
2013 58th Annual Central Washington Artists Exhibition
Juror Steven L. Grafe Yakima, WA
2011-2014 Spirit of the West Cowboy Gathering
Ellensburg, WA
2010 Gallery One Women Artists Juried Show
"Where We Are Now" Ellensburg, WA
2006-present Clymer Museum Annual Holiday Miniature Show
Ellensburg, WA
2008 53rd Annual Central Washington Artist Exhibition
Juror Robert Tomlinson Yakima, WA
2007 52nd Annual Central Washington Artists Exhibition
Juror Joan Stuart Ross Yakima, WA
2006 Kittitas Country Juried Art Exhibit Gallery One
Juror Lee Musgrave Ellensburg, WA
2005 Kittitas County Juried Art Exhibition
Gallery One, Ellensburg, WA
2006 Clymer Museum Barn Paintings Show
2000-2020 Carpenter House Museum & Art Gallery
Cle Elum, WA
1999 Arts Umbrella Student Show, Bothell, WA
Awards
2014 Theme & Content Award
Hall of Fame/Steers of Fame, Ellensburg, WA
2012 Best of Show
Kittitas County Fair, Western Art Association
Ellensburg, WA
2011 Best of Show
Kittitas County Fair, Western Art Association
Ellensburg, WA
2010 Calendar Award
Fresh Air Artist Festival-High Country Artists, Cle Elum, WA
2010 Second Best of Show
Washington State Grange
2009 Best of Show
Washington State Grange
2006 Superintendents Choice Award
Kittitas County Fair, Gallery One, Ellensburg, WA
2006 Peggy Schaake Award - Juror Lee Musgrave
Gallery One, Kittitas County Juried Art Exhibit
Ellensburg, WA
Public Art Projects
2012,13,14 Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame Participant
2013 ARRF Solo Fundraiser, Roslyn,WA Sunday Market
2013 Roslyn Theatre Benefit Roslyn,WA
2013 Barn Quilts of Kittitas County Sponsor/Creator Ellensburg,WA
2002,3,4,6,7,13 Gallery One, PaintEllensburg, Ellensburg,WA
2009 1st Annual Fresh Air Artists Festival Organizer
with High Country Artists, Cle Elum, WA
2006 Mannequins Plus, Larson Gallery, Yakima, WA
2004 Roslyn Library Benefit, Roslyn, WA
2002 Cows Around Town with High Country Artists- Gallery One/Daily Record
Ellensburg, WA
Membership
High Country Artist Member 2000-2020
High Country Artist Board Term Positions - 2001 Secretary, 2005 President, 2008 V.P.
Art Representation Currently
The Clymer Museum Ellensburg, WA
The Brick Saloon Roslyn, WA
Hair Affair Cle Elum, WA
END Updated 12-20
My creativity has assumed many forms throughout my life. I believe I have settled upon the finality of what my artistic endeavors represent to me. Expressing my experiences and how I view the world using color, form and brush stroke seems to give me the greatest joy.
Continuing my own education through art workshops, books and viewing the masters will always be a constant. Realizing my own style of impressionism and seeking truth in that medium is what I strive to communicate. It is always a bonus when others understand those hard earned brush strokes, lending to wordless visual expressions.
Painting with the medium of acrylics, watercolors, or oils have been the mainstay of my work. I also practice life drawing and landscapes, often with charcoal, pen or graphite. Digital photography also captures my experiences and helps with composing for the final decisions of a painting. I feel a strong pull towards figurative study. My focus for the future will be to expand on storytelling using the images I have gathered over the years.
Mentoring artists new to the discipline is another area where I derive great pleasure. Being with like-minded artists motivates me to share the understanding, purpose and joy in producing art. I will be forever grateful to my weekly class instructors; workshop instructors, other artists and friends that have encouraged and helped along the art journey and for all the master's works I have had the opportunity to view and admire.
Karen Watland's "Artist Biography"
Colorist, Impressionist, Expressionist, and Representational are all terms Karen uses to describe her art that has been building momentum since 1998 when she took her first painting class. She didn't stop there, as art classes and workshops took over her life after retiring from a novelty chocolate business she created and shared with her husband for 10 years during the 80's and 90's. This afforded her experience in crafting and designing molds, selling product, creating colors in white chocolate and showing at the bi annual Wholesale Shows at Associated Grocers, Seattle and Portland Gift Shows. Being creative has always fed Karen's spirit and so it was necessary for her to get serious about one direction that could sustain her for a long time.
You won't find just one subject or medium in Karen's work as she prefers to keep her art fresh with new explorations. Karen believes that each subject warrants a particularly unique nuance to convey its message to the viewer. That freedom affords her a vision that is endless, exciting and enduring.
A native of Washington State, Karen always had horses in her pasture as well as experienced their strengths camping with them in the Wilderness. Recently deciding that they were taking up precious painting time, she sold them in lieu of just imagining the horse's spirit and creating it on a two dimensional surface. Having done just about everything you can do with a horse during those years has helped her to express and capture that memory, the true spirit of the horse. That strong dedication to her new found love of art, shows in her constant studying and immersing herself in every aspect of painting genre. You can find Karen in the wilderness still, sketching and painting nature as those independent experiences are what give her direction and meaning to her art. She shares those memorable scenes of living close to nature in her artwork.
Encouraging other artists, volunteering in art organizations, consolidating art workshops and festivals, hosting art galleries, and donating art work for fund raisers has also been instrumental in Karen's development as an artist and art advocate.
Karen's influences are from masters of the past and present. The list is always growing, however, the most prominent that have meaning to her art direction at present is the excellence of Huihan Liu, the brushwork of Zhaoming Wu, the sensuality of Pino, the stories of Howard Terpning, the sensitivity of Richard Schmid, the mood of Zorn & Fechin, the drawings of Rembrandt, the grandiosity of Sargeant, colors of Sorolla, and the brilliance of Robert Henri.
"My paintings are created from a desire to see something, but not all, of what stirs my emotions as I begin to paint. Many are created directly from my imagination and those that started from subject matter I saw usually are turned into my unique expression of it. After painting a piece I always have a strong connective feeling to it, which I believe is a derivative of true creativity." Karen Watland
Art Education
Weekly Classes - Liana Bennett, ( Representational Painting) Bothell, WA 1998-2000
Don Brontsema, (Espressionism Painting)Ellensburg, WA 2001-2006
Workshops - 1998-2019: Juliette Aristades, Zhaoming Wu, Ned Mueller, Richard Robinson, Liana Bennett, Jim Lamb, Robert Krogle, Craig Srebnik, Dianna Shynne, Diane McClary, David Taylor, Robert Long, Graham Flatt
Trade School
Peterson's ITT School of Business
1968-1969 Certificate of Completion - Business Automation
Solo Exhibitions
2014 1st Annual Roslyn Art Festival, Roslyn, WA
2014 69th 49er's Days, Winthrop, WA
2013,14,15 Back Country Horseman Rendezvous Show, Ellensburg, WA
2005-2015 Roslyn Art Walks, Roslyn, WA
2003-2020 Carpenter House Museum & Art Gallery,
Yearly Solo Show - Main Floor, Cle Elum, WA
2006 Farmers Insurance, Ellensburg Art Walk
2007 & 8 Edward Jones Investments, Ellensburg Art Walk
2010 Amazing Frames, Ellensburg Art Walk
2011-present The Brick Saloon, Roslyn, WA
1985-1993 Seattle Gift Bi-Annual Show for Loveable Chocolates
Group Exhibitions
2015-2019 Western Art Association National Show (3rd weekend in May) Ellensburg, WA
2014 Northwest Experience Clymer Museum Juried Show
Juror's Gregg Schlanger, Michael Lewis, Ellensburg, WA
2013 58th Annual Central Washington Artists Exhibition
Juror Steven L. Grafe Yakima, WA
2011-2014 Spirit of the West Cowboy Gathering
Ellensburg, WA
2010 Gallery One Women Artists Juried Show
"Where We Are Now" Ellensburg, WA
2006-present Clymer Museum Annual Holiday Miniature Show
Ellensburg, WA
2008 53rd Annual Central Washington Artist Exhibition
Juror Robert Tomlinson Yakima, WA
2007 52nd Annual Central Washington Artists Exhibition
Juror Joan Stuart Ross Yakima, WA
2006 Kittitas Country Juried Art Exhibit Gallery One
Juror Lee Musgrave Ellensburg, WA
2005 Kittitas County Juried Art Exhibition
Gallery One, Ellensburg, WA
2006 Clymer Museum Barn Paintings Show
2000-2020 Carpenter House Museum & Art Gallery
Cle Elum, WA
1999 Arts Umbrella Student Show, Bothell, WA
Awards
2014 Theme & Content Award
Hall of Fame/Steers of Fame, Ellensburg, WA
2012 Best of Show
Kittitas County Fair, Western Art Association
Ellensburg, WA
2011 Best of Show
Kittitas County Fair, Western Art Association
Ellensburg, WA
2010 Calendar Award
Fresh Air Artist Festival-High Country Artists, Cle Elum, WA
2010 Second Best of Show
Washington State Grange
2009 Best of Show
Washington State Grange
2006 Superintendents Choice Award
Kittitas County Fair, Gallery One, Ellensburg, WA
2006 Peggy Schaake Award - Juror Lee Musgrave
Gallery One, Kittitas County Juried Art Exhibit
Ellensburg, WA
Public Art Projects
2012,13,14 Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame Participant
2013 ARRF Solo Fundraiser, Roslyn,WA Sunday Market
2013 Roslyn Theatre Benefit Roslyn,WA
2013 Barn Quilts of Kittitas County Sponsor/Creator Ellensburg,WA
2002,3,4,6,7,13 Gallery One, PaintEllensburg, Ellensburg,WA
2009 1st Annual Fresh Air Artists Festival Organizer
with High Country Artists, Cle Elum, WA
2006 Mannequins Plus, Larson Gallery, Yakima, WA
2004 Roslyn Library Benefit, Roslyn, WA
2002 Cows Around Town with High Country Artists- Gallery One/Daily Record
Ellensburg, WA
Membership
High Country Artist Member 2000-2020
High Country Artist Board Term Positions - 2001 Secretary, 2005 President, 2008 V.P.
Art Representation Currently
The Clymer Museum Ellensburg, WA
The Brick Saloon Roslyn, WA
Hair Affair Cle Elum, WA
END Updated 12-20