NVOS artist Karen Lynn Ingalls began drawing as soon as her fingers could hold a crayon. At the age of two, she drew a nude woman holding a fishing pole, which suitably impressed her parents. They made sure she had a constant supply of paper for drawing on a shelf in the closet, lots of crayons to draw with, and a child-sized table and chairs in part of her bedroom by the window to serve as her first studio space.
As one might guess from someone who always drew people, Karen became a figurative artist, and, although she painted, always considered herself a drawer rather than a painter. Her favorite drawing media are a stick of graphite and a regular black ink pen.
While living in the Monterey Bay Area, Karen began, with a group of artist friends, to paint parts of Elkhorn Slough that were threatened by development, in order to call attention to the threat. Elkhorn Slough, since recognized by the Audubon Society as a national treasure, is a sensitive wetlands area on the Pacific Flyway that hosts over 300 species of migratory birds.
The Endangered Landscapes show made an impression; the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, in one of the few — perhaps only — times in its history, voted unanimously for an eighteen-month building moratorium on the area, with some supervisors commenting on the show as they made their votes. That part of Elkhorn Slough remains undeveloped today.
In 2000, Karen exhibited her figurative and landscape paintings together at Seaside City Hall. An artist friend of hers commented, "The portraits are nice, but there's something about the landscapes…." Karen heeded his advice, and continues painting landscapes of rural California today, with her own Expressionist–influenced, colorist sensibility.
When she moved from the Central Coast back up to the North Bay, where she'd grown up, and was surrounded by a more golden–tinged light, her palette changed, becoming warmer and more golden. After having pushed her colors as far as she could for so long, just in order to see how far she could take them, the colors of her paintings began working together in new ways, and Karen began to think of herself as a painter as well as a drawer.
Since then, Karen's work — including paintings, drawings, collages, and life-sized painted statues — has been exhibited, and can be found in collections, on both west and east coasts of the United States. A California credentialed teacher, she currently teaches art to adults at the Calistoga Art Center, and previously taught through Napa Valley College Community Education. She has been a part of Napa Valley Open Studios since 2005, spending several years at various times on its steering committee.
Of her work, Karen says her mission "is to see the life – that which is deep down, in the core of all things – and paint it. I use the tools I have and the skills I've learned, working with flat shapes, design, color, value, and line, but the magic happens when you see the life, too. If what you see delights you, or gives you joy, or makes your eyes and your heart happy, then it's working."
This year, Karen will be at Studio #48, with Sequoia Buck, who took ideas and methods learned in one of Karen's mixed media classes and combined them with her own expertise in papermaking and digital photography to create entirely new creations. They will show their work in Sequoia's studio and garden in the country, at 5140 Sharp Road, just outside Calistoga, California.
You can also see Karen's landscape paintings online at www.KarenLynnIngalls.com, and you can see some of her work in other genres and media at her workshops website, at www.NapaValleyArtWorkshops.com.
