Featured Artist Karen Lehrer

Artist Karen Lehrer creates images that are influenced and inspired by her attraction to the patterns and textures caused by natural erosion. See more of her artwork by visiting her website.

 

 

I have been an artist my entire life, and in my early professional career I worked as a textile designer for a Fortune 500 company. Much of my work reflects my experience with textile and pattern design.

 

 

I have also been a psychotherapist for more than twenty years. During my psychotherapy career, I continued my artwork in both collage and painting mediums.

 

 

Today I am lucky enough to live in beautiful Santa Barbara, California, and I have a studio in the Santa Barbara Funk Zone, where I get to participate in the synergy and camaraderie of fellow artists.

 

 

Currently, I am inspired by the natural world, such as eroded surfaces that have been weathered by time, and the neutral colors found in sand and stone.

 

 

Additionally, the array of color that nature provides in plants and flowers greatly informs the spectrum and subject matter of many of my paintings.

 

 

I am also inspired by architecture and my travels. For example, I am enchanted by the snowy landscape of the slopes when I am on ski trips.

 

 

I have also been very inspired by my visits to Japan where I was especially impressed by the patterns and textures of handmade paper (washi), ancient and contemporary architecture, textiles–such as shibori, and even the manhole covers!

 

 

I am working in acrylic and mixed media on wood panels, which enables me to carve, sand and layer each image, thereby bringing both depth and texture to a two dimensional plane.

 

 

Each painting that I do has six to ten layers. I respond to each layer I create until the entire composition feels both balanced and harmonious to my eye.

 

 

I have often described my work as being a visual depiction of thought forms floating in space. My goal is to create art that brings harmony and joy to my collectors.

 

Artist Karen Lehrer invites you to follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

 

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