About the Artist
Karen Wolf
original art & colorful jewelry
Artist Statement
I like to paint a wide variety of subject matter in both representational & abstract styles. Inspiration for my work most often comes from images having strong contrasts in value, color or texture. Exploring different ideas, media & techniques that lead to new expressions through art is my aim.
Artist Bio & Resume
I have been expressing myself through art since early childhood. I am told that one of my earliest works was a much unappreciated lipstick mural on the wall at the age of two! I don't remember any of that but after the mural I was encouraged to use crayons, finger paints & pencils on paper! I have been drawing & painting for as long as I can remember. At family gatherings relatives found it very entertaining to have me (as a very young child) quickly draw one animal caricature after another, (if only I could be that entertaining now). My grandmother encouraged my interest in drawing and painting with an introduction to oil painting with a starter set when I was twelve. She was, at the time, trying her hand at painting classes.
Throughout my life I have experimented with soft & oil pastels, pen & ink, colored pencils, collage, oils & watercolors. I took regular & extra art classes throughout my school years. I was accepted to Kutztown College, Kutztown, Pa., for a Commercial Art degree but changed my mind about going to college. I started working for Verizon (at that time it was Bell Telephone). I put in my thirty years, painting in my spare time. My job afforded me the opportunity to go on several overseas art workshop trips. I also attended various watercolor, acrylic & portrait classes from several artists both locally & nationally known. After retiring several years ago I have been painting full time, working more often in acrylics. At times I combine the acrylics with one or more of the other media mentioned above. I enjoy working in a series in one media (abstracts in acrylic for example) & taking short breaks with one or two paintings in another media & subject matter, then going back to the series.
In the past several years I have taken some silver smithing classes. I have been designing & creating jewelry with precious metals, gemstones, vintage & artist made glass beads, incorporating my artwork into some of the pieces. I am also using a material called precious metal clay to sculpt one of a kind jewelry pieces. Precious metal clay is a clay with silver, bronze ( or gold ) particles suspended in an organic binder that burns off during a firing process resulting in a solid piece of 100% fine silver, bronze ( or gold ).
Exhibits & Art Shows
Exhibits & Art Shows
2000 July-August Reading Museum Berks Art Alliance Juried Show, Reading, Pa.
2001 July-August Reading Museum Berks Art Alliance Juried Show, Reading, Pa.
2007 July-August Reading Museum Berks Art Alliance Juried Show
2 Purchase Awards
2008 February Immaculata College Juried Art Show, Malvern, Pa.
2008 April Lebanon Valley College Juried Art Show, Lebanon, Pa.
2009 May Immaculata College Juried Art Show
2009 July-August Reading Museum Berks Art Alliance Juried Show
1 Honorable Mention Award
2 Purchase Awards
2010 August Berks Art Council Third Annual Fast Lane
Juried Art Show – Awarded my painting on a billboard
2015 August Berks Art Alliance Open Juried Show
1 Patron’s Choice Purchase Award
2018 September Berks Art Alliance Juried Show, Goggleworks, Reading, Pa.
2019 April-May Snippets a group show, Clay on Main, Oley, Pa.
2019 September Berks Art Alliance Juried Show, Goggleworks, Reading, Pa.
Current Series
My recent works are in acrylic sometimes combined with collage. My first works painted in this way were my " Soul Series". These paintings are my expressions in abstract of what the Soul means to me & what desires, purpose, emotions, inspirations & secrets it provides. These human aspects are so strong I believe that they come from deep inside us, from something we are part of & yet that is more than just the "I" we are aware of ; "the Soul". Some call it the "Higher Self" or "Source". I don't feel as though this is really a religious view but more a spiritual one.
My most recent series in this way of painting is my "Song Bird" series. I'm also experimenting with other subject matter with this approach. I continue to paint other subjects in different materials, but at this time I paint more in acrylic than any other media.
