Karen I. Vernon - This Beautiful Place

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Karen I. Vernon:

This body of work has been produced in the last twelve months and has been influenced by the place I live, my home gardens in Katoomba, and the valleys surrounding Katoomba. Some works have been done from photographs, with permission, by Phil Latka, Gary Hayes, and Margarita Georgiadis.

This Beautiful Place exhibition is my first solo show. Heavily influenced by my love of nature and art, I have gone back to my earliest memories of learning about painting from my father and our visits on Saturdays to the NSW art gallery and the botanic gardens. Over the last 12 months, I have undergone the hardest time from MS, the worst I have experienced in 25 yrs of diagnosis. 

I believe it is my spirit that has kept me creating. I resonate with a Gerhard Richter quote:  "Art is the highest form of hope ".  And this is symbolised by the pink flannel flowers that occurred at Narrow Neck in 2020. I believe that it is spirit that drives us and unites all living things. I hope this exhibition evokes the same feeling for viewers.

Mostly oil pastels on paper and some acrylic paintings, colour is the most striking thing on first viewing. The oil pastels used are Sennelier oil pastels, set with Sennelier oil pastel fixative. Some of the acrylics also have oil pastel overlay and then fixed with the Sennelier oil pastel fixative, which gives a satin varnish finish to the work. Most works on paper have been framed with the best archival materials by Hope Tree Framing, ensuring the longevity of the artwork.

Three works, After the Fires After the Rains, Between the Valleys, and Margarita’s Garden, are also available as a limited edition archival pigment print, signed & edition numbered by the artist. They are limited to 25 only of each artwork and are printed on Hahnemühle German Etching paper.