Karen

Friend and fellow artist.  Portraiture painter with her own unique style.

“Women are icons in the paintings of Karen Russell. They take over the canvas, large scale oil portraits of female friends manifesting into versions other than themselves, modern and abstract. The symbol, what she stands for, really becomes your own interpretation. What is a woman to you? Self­-taught, Russell works with oils and paints by sectioning rather than blending. She finds solace in working alone, preferring to use photos she takes of her friends. Forget the live model. For her, it’s all about compartmentalizing and space. The models, her friends, become bigger versions of themselves, taking on the goddess form present in Russell’s mind. Alterations to the hands and form are made, and it is these changes that become the thread that binds her painting together. Women as icons, goddess, form, and subject. All different but sharing similarity. Russell began painting at age twenty one, inspired by the work of David Wojnarowicz and Phoebe Gloeckner, the elements of rebelliousness and cultural influence of their work no doubt influential. Her paintings stand out in a blaze of color, women taking on almost mythic proportions.”

For samples of her work and/or commission requests visit her site Solace in Color.

If in Portland, check out her opening reception this Friday at Good Gallery.