About the Work
Every day I am inspired by observing the natural world, whether it is the intricacy of a leafy branch, the texture and lines of a mountain rock, or a bold color in the sky. I see endless contradictions within the same landscape: light/dark; arid/wet; sharp/soft; living/dying. I feel compelled to examine this harmonious paradox in my work as I seek to capture the mystery, variation and whimsicality I find in every natural scene.
Nature is never still and so I begin my process by spilling and in turns adding different colors of paint onto the paper to create a ground. Though I manipulate the paint using various techniques, there is always an element of surprise and wildness. I strive to maintain this feeling of movement and spontaneity, so elemental to nature, as I develop the painting to its finished state. More recently I have also begun working on wood, finding inspiration in the natural grains of the wood to create more abstract representations of the natural world.
Public Art Commissions
Alameda County Arts Commission:
Cherryland Community Center, Cherryland, CA (four commissioned paintings on permanent exhibit)
Castro Valley utility box art, six locations, Castro Valley, CA (2019 – present)
Selected Shows and Exhibits
Valley Art Gallery, Featured Artist, February – March 2024, Walnut Creek, CA
California Watercolor Association 54th National Exhibition, Juror: Carolyn Lord, Jan-March 2024
O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Arts and Ecology national online show, Juror: Obi Kaufman, Mill Valley, CA, Mar-April 2023
California Watercolor Association 53rd National Exhibition, Juror: Gary Tucker, Harrington Art Gallery, Pleasanton, CA, Jan-Mar 2023
California Watercolor Association 52nd National Exhibition, Juror: Andy Evansen, Harrington Art Gallery, Pleasanton, CA, Jan – Mar 2022
Yosemite Renaissance 36, Yosemite National Park Museum Gallery, Yosemite, CA, and traveling locations (1st prize winner) Mar – Sep 2021
44th International Watermedia Exhibit, Houston Watercolor Art Society. Juror: KeitoTenabe, Houston, TX, Mar 2021
Firehouse Arts Center, Center Hallway Gallery (one person exhibition), Pleasanton, CA Nov – Dec 2019
Arc Gallery, SNAP Exhibit , San Francisco, CA, Jan 2019
Moraga Art Gallery, Moraga, CA, Featured guest Artist, 2018 and 2014
Yosemite Renaissance 33, Yosemite National Park Museum Gallery, Yosemite, CA and traveling locations Mar – Sep 2018
Harrington Gallery, Fresh Works Exhibit (Merit Award), Pleasanton, CA May – Jun 2017
Coos Art Museum, Expressions West 2017, Juror: Katherine Chang Liu, Coos Bay, Oregon, Apr – Jun 2017
Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts, 31st Annual International Competition, Jurors: Faculty of Fine Arts, FSU, Tallahasse, Fl (Aug – Oct 2016)
San Francisco Women Artists Gallery, Bay Area Invitational Exhibition, Juror: Alan Bamberger, (awarded Juror’s Pick), San Francisco, CA, Apr- May 2016
Chico Art Center, 2015 National All Media Juried Exhibition, Chico, CA, Jul – Aug 2015
Collector gallery, Berkeley, CA, Feb-April 2015 and 2013
Dab Art 2014 International Juried Exhibition, HUD Gallery, Ventura, CA, Nov – Dec 2014
California Water Color Association 44th National Exhibition ,Juror: Elaine Daily-Birnbaum, Olive Hyde Gallery, Fremont, CA, Feb – Mar 2013
Women’s Cancer Resource Center, Oakland, CA 2012
The Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Community Art Gallery, Berkeley, CA 2012
Gallery 411/Classic Cars West, Oakland Art Murmur, Oakland, CA, 2011
Permanent Collections
Stanford Medical Center, Stanford, CA
Pacifica Family Maternity Center, Berkeley CA
Teaching
Watercolor Workshop Instructor, Richmond Art Center, Richmond, CA
Other
member, Valley Art Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA
juror for member shows, California Watercolor Association
About the Artist
Born in New York City, I was raised in Berkeley, California. Over the years, I studied art at the University of California, Berkeley, and Laney and Merritt Colleges in Oakland, California. I have spent most of my career as a public interest lawyer but returned primarily to my original passions of drawing and painting in 2010.
Featured Artist Interview
Artist Spotlight: Karen Kramer, Watercolorist
Featured Artist Interview
http://linusgallery.com/blog/
Visit my Studio
Studios Eleven
560 2nd Street, Oakland, CA (near Jack London Square). Enter through Narrative
Wheel chair accessible; free street parking
Please email info@karenkramerart.com (or use contact form) to make appointment or confirm hours
EAST BAY OPEN STUDIOS
DECEMBER 2 – 3, 2023
11:00 am – 5:00 pm
STUDIOS 11 HOLIDAY SHOW
DECEMBER 2023