Karen Gaudet

kareng@accesswave.ca
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Medium: oil, mixed media, acrylic

Subjects: still life, floral, portraits

Artist Statement
To me living is learning, and art is the vessel through which I learn, gain knowledge, discover. Every piece of work that I complete is a new experience and I understand more about art, myself and the world around me.
I admire many genres of painting, but draw a lot of inspiration from 17th century European artists such as Modigliani and Carravagio, and often paint subjects that reflect a sensitivity to space and light.
An affinity for materiality, my interest lies as much in the body of the canvas as with the subject of my painting. My work creates a highly textured surface through generous application of the medium, and a multitude of thoughtfully rendered layers. I love it when you have to get up really close to a painting to get its full intention and there you find a myriad of things going on.

Bio
At age sixteen Karen was a self-taught artist who explored many different mediums from playing and writing music, filling sketch pads with drawings, to making stained glass windows and painting. Eclectic by nature, one interest was not enough. She was influenced early on by her mother, a previous NSCAD student and art teacher. Finally, in 2001 she decided to make art and design a full time career and began that journey. Since then she has completed her Bachelor of Design degree at NSCAD University does freelance graphic design and paints from her home studio in Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia.
Karen’s love of growing and photographing flowers, has culminated into her recent studio work ( in progress ). Inspired by Georgia O’Keefe, Karen is currently painting large flower still life; metaphor for life, mortality, sexuality, in the ongoing quest to understand, life and death and everything in between.

Vase of Flowers