Karen was born in New Mexico, and has lived in Ireland, Texas,

Wake Island and Alaska. Her parents’ interests in wildlife and art were her early influences, imparting a lifelong love of exploring nature and conveying her impressions through art. Karen’s mother, also an artist, made art materials available to both her daughters and provided encouragement.

After Karen earned a degree in biology at Humboldt State College in California, she and her husband, a fisheries biologist, moved to Kodiak, Alaska. There Karen worked for the Fish and Wildlife Service, sometimes monitoring salmon runs in remote sites. She also established a pottery studio and taught ceramics and batik at Kodiak College.

Oriental brush painting was the primary form of decoration on her

pottery, and since closing her studio, Karen has continued her practice and exploration of this style. She has studied with master painters Diana Kan and Henry Wo Yue-Kee and is a member of the Sumi-e Society of America, and has had paintings accepted in the society’s annual shows.

Regular visits with family in Volcano provide opportunities to renew her enjoyment of Hawai‘i’s fauna and flora. Always sketching and painting her impressions, she finds orchids a special challenge.

"The controlled flow of paint on absorbent rice paper in oriental brush painting is a fresh, spontaneous method of painting. I strive to capture the emotion and delight that I experience when seeing a subject."