The_Art_of_Karen

Karen E. Lewis

Painting the Many Moods of Water

If oil is my medium, then water is my element. My attachment to water began when I was a kid, at a lake cabin in the Poconos, where I swam among the water lilies and Sunnies. I graduated from the rowboat to a canoe and went rock-hopping down the Monongahela. Whitewater kayaking escalated to slalom racing in the Northwest, then nationally, then at pre-world championships in Bala, Wales. With Northwest Outward Bound, I guided rafters down the Deschutes River.

When you spend that much time on rivers, you learn to read the water, looking at swirls for clues to what moves beneath. Which way is the river flowing? Which little ripples signify underwater rocks, and which are a disturbance of wind? Contemplating the sky, I notice that it has its own currents, and a radiance that comes from heat, atmosphere, and the intermixture of air masses.

Water became a natural subject for me to paint. And hey, I just like being there. For many contented hours, I paint from some special spot with sights, sounds and smells of the outdoors around me. River, lake, ocean, water of any kind is always my favorite. In the studio, these plein-air sketches expand into larger works, creating retreats that transport me to that special place.

From intimate experience, I use oil paints to describe the natural world as color in motion: skies, waters, even growing things in their relative stillness. Sweeping brushstrokes express the fluidity of air and water in richly colored shapes. The solidity of rock and earth give grounding to this motion, carved with form-defining marks. Connecting earth and sky are the reaching growths of grasses and trees.

I have been out painting the many moods of water. Here, I share my journeys with you.

Big Sky Currrents by Karen Lewis 30 x 30 Original oil on canvas Studio painting
Bamboo Cluster L by Karen Lewis 36 x 18 Original oil on canvas Studio painting	Bamboo Cluster R by Karen Lewis 36 x 18 Original oil on canvas Studio painting
Oregon City Falls by Karen Lewis 6 x 8 Original oil on canvas Plein Air Painting	Mountain & Valley by Karen Lewis 6 x 8 Original oil on canvas Studio painting
Deschutes Riverlight by Karen Lewis 24 x 18 Original oil on canvas Studio painting	Sky and Water Trails by Karen Lewis (Lincoln City Area) 30 x 30 Original oil on canvas Studio painting
SOLD Deschutes Awakening by Karen Lewis 36 x 48 Original oil on canvas Studio painting
SOLD Sunriver Bridge and Birch by Karen Lewis 6 x 8 Original oil on canvas Studio painting	SOLD Deschutes Downriver Palette by Karen Lewis 6 x 8 Original oil on canvas Studio painting
River Meadow by Karen Lewis (Sunriver) 6 x 8 Original oil on canvas Plein Air Painting	Cascade Melody by Karen Lewis (Bull Run) 18 x 24 Original oil on canvas Studio painting
	Lake Waves by Karen Lewis (Detroit Lake) 12 x 16 Original oil on canvas Plein Air Painting
Sunflower Row by Karen Lewis (Hood River) 12 x 24 Original oil on panel Studio painting
SOLD Sunflowers Against the Hills by Karen Lewis 9 x 12 Original oil on canvas Plein Air painting	Drop in the Shadows, Multnomah Falls by Karen Lewis 12 x 24 Original oil on canvas Plein Air Painting
Gold Hills and Blue Water by Karen Lewis 36 x 48 Original oil on canvas Studio painting
Deschutes Fall Grass and Willow by Karen Lewis 18 x 24 Original oil on canvas Studio painting	Morning Aspen Shadows by Karen Lewis 16 x 12 Original oil on canvas Plein Air Painting
Golden Mount Hood Dawn by Karen Lewis 12 x 24 Original oil on canvas Plein Air Painting	Sunlight though Status by Karen Lewis 18 x 24 Studio painting
SOLD Clouds and Calm Water by Karen Lewis 12 x 16 Original oil on canvas Plein Air Painting	Spring Cloud Promise by Karen Lewis 18 x 24 Original oil on canvas Plein Air Painting

Shaffer Fine

Art Gallery
Phone (503) 957-3301
info@shafferfineart.com

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Shaffer Fine Art Gallery Phone (503) 957-3301 info@shafferfineart.com

Shaffer Fine Art Gallery
Phone (503) 957-3301
info@shafferfineart.com