PAINTINGS 1
by Karen Anne Baldauski
"Edge Of The Sea", 24x36, acrylic on stretched canvas.
Karen lives surrounded by the sea. She paints subjects she knows and loves. She has been winning prizes since her first national painting competition where she earned first prize for her oil painting, "Hope", while still in college.
"Taking A Nap" is one of hundreds of figurative paintings and drawings Karen has created since 1981. Using just a brush to create line drawings is an exciting process that demands full attention and the highest of skills to achieve so much with as few strokes as possible. Sumi-e fundamentals are the basis of much of Karen's work.
This painting won the Founder's Award ($400) given in honor of the founder of the Sumi-e Society of America, Motoi Oi, at the international sumi-e exhibition "Sumi-e For Today" hosted by the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto, Canada in 2009. William Ho, an internationally renowned artist was the juror. "Sumi-e" is Japanese for "painting in black ink". Karen's work in whatever media she uses is characterized by sumi-e fundamentals. Wikipedia defines "sumi-e": there is "...a great emphasis on virtuoso brushwork and conveying the perceived "spirit" or "essence" of a subject over direct imitation." ...
N HER FIRST COMPETITION,
Bob: "Let's go!"
As a Registered Maine Guide, Karen knows how important it is when going on adventures to go with a "buddy".
Bob is Karen's buddy He knows how to stay safe in boats on the ocean and the big lakes and rivers throughout Maine. He knows how to fix most everything that could break down and has mastered electronic gear to cover all eventualities. Bob wrote a poem (below) for Karen, December 27, 2012, which sums up her life:
Art is IT
IT is Art
IT is my passion
IT is I
IT is my Soul
IT is my life
IT is eternal
I am IT
A NOTE FROM KAREN:
As artists, what subjects we choose to concentrate on
in our work tells a lot about who we are and what we find to be meaningful in life.
Our work becomes our legacy.
Thank you for spending time looking at some of my works. I have developed a love of Nature, wildlife and the environment I live in now. This past winter I kept company with 41 wild turkeys who visited my farm! In early summer, 3 of the big hens appeared in the orchard with 11 poults following along, learning to find food and stretching their wings. Such joy to see them. It is this kind of sighting that inspires me
to do more work and keep at it for as long as i can.
(There are more paintings displayed under the heading PAINTINGS 2, click on the menu.)