Karen Brazeau
My art is about color, shape and light. It’s about the real world – but not a replica of the real world. As a child my vision was limited and wonky. I had to fill in or skip over the details. Now I see just fine but still imagine a world that is a little bit off.
When an older woodcarver asked where I go my images, I just pointed to my head. In response, he said, “they remind me of the last of my psychedelic days and this side of innocence”.
I started out using only transparent watercolors and often return to them for their pure color and light. More often I paint with whatever medium best suits the needs of the work at the moment, including acrylic, gouache, ink, crayons, other mark making devices and occasional collage.
I have lived nearly all my life in the Pacific Northwest – usually just a short drive or walk from the ocean. Growing up, I couldn’t wait to go someplace warmer, drier, sunnier, snowier, busier, faster, - any place else! I eventually went to all those places but always returned to the Northwest with renewed appreciation for my own place.
I now reside in Portland, Oregon, and on the Long Beach Peninsula; a 28 x 1.5 mile strip of sand and trees that juts northward between the Pacific Ocean and the Willapa Bay at the southernmost edge of Washington State at the mouth of the Columbia River. It’s literally life on the edge.
Galleries
J Brunner Fine Art
161 Howerton Avenue, Port of
Ilwaco, WA. 98624
White Bird Gallery
251 N Hemlock Street
Cannon Beach, OR 97110
BOLD Gallery
711 Pacific Ave North
Long Beach, WA. 98631
Trail’s End Art Gallery
656 A Street
Gearhart, OR. 97138
Affiliations
Southwest Washington Watercolor Society
Trail’s End Art Association
Peninsula Arts Association