Karen Gillis Taylor

Although I had the classic training in “realistic” art, the drawings in my sketchbook kept reminding me that there were ideas from my imagination that needed expression. I love this quote from Einstein: “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.”

I will never run out of ideas for paintings. Yet there is another world I love to immerse myself in, and that is color. Inventive color and imaginative painting go hand in hand. I’m fascinated with why working with color affects emotions, and how a painting can evoke emotional responses in the viewer.

Although some say my color palettes are “bright”, they are rooted in observation of nature, where all great lessons for painters are learned. For every single pure and “bright” color seen on my canvas, there will be found many more toned hues and neutrals in the painting that take a back seat and keep the painting harmonious.

While I love the challenge of finding a painting’s good color balance, I am selfishly enjoying the actual color reflecting back to me as the painting progresses. That’s the joy experience. I feel like a spectator as I paint.

I hope that the viewer will find an element of mystery in my paintings. Some seem to have come out of a dream, as in “Village Morning”, and “Night City by Water”. At some point, the painter releases the image to the spectators, and it will be up to them to discover their own personal feelings.