As an artist, Karen
Shelton achieves paintings that emit and evince a human
experience. Her subject matter consists of the
everyday, and yet she has mastered that quality that
makes a painting successful. She reaches further,
beyond the abstract and the representational, into
an intimate spirituality that consists of her individual
way of seeing things balanced against the personal
experiences that each viewer brings to his interaction
with her paintings.
In building her compositions
of beautiful and comfortable common objects, Karen
Shelton challenges the complacency with which we as
viewers see and by-pass these very subjects. She
is not building static still-life scenes, but vignettes
that see a dramatic play between light and dark; between
treasured and overlooked.
In addition to the many
private and corporate collections that boast her work,
she has watercolors in the permanent collections of
the Portsmouth Museum in Portsmouth, Virginia, and
the Caswell Council for Arts and History in North Carolina. Karen
Shelton currently shows her work at outdoor shows and
festivals, and at her studio in south Boston, Virginia.
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Click
on image for larger view
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Tulips and Tangerines
15" x 23" |
Whispering Hope
24" x 19" |
Inner Sanctum III
12" x 20" |
Personal Statement:
God gave a me gift
that I have enjoyed all my life; and now, feeling more
grateful and taking it more seriously, I am working
hard to cultivate and improve on that desire. I
admire artists who bring the hurts of the world to
our attention; but I personally need to express my
love and appreciation for the beauty of life. I am
presently painting still lifes – objects
and flowers that, for me and hopefully my audience,
evoke warm feelings of family, serenity and even spirituality.
I am not trying to
make a statement with my art other than to appreciate
the everyday world around me...the beauty of the fruits
of the earth and the love of family and those that
came before me. |
Résumé:
Karen Shelton is a signature member
of the Virginia Watercolor Society
and the Southern Watercolor Society. |
| Recent exhibitions: |
| 2007 |
AAWS National, Winston-Salem, NC
Hilton Head National, Hilton Head, SC
|
| 2005 |
Virginia Watercolor
Society Annual Show, Charlottesville,
VA
Southern Watercolor Society
Annual Show, Panama City,
FL
Avenue of the Arts, Charlotte,
NC
Sidewalk Art Show, Roanoke,
VA
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| 2004 |
Arts Alive,
Ocean City, MD
Avenue of the Arts, Charlotte,
NC |
| 2003 |
Challenge
of Champions, Houston, TX
Centerfest, Durham, NC |
| 2002 |
Solo Exhibition
at This Century Gallery,
Williamsburg, Virginia (formerly
Twentieth Century Gallery)
Southern Watercolor
Society Annual Exhibition
Virginia Watercolor Society
Members' Show |
Recent awards and distinctions: |
| 2007 |
Judges Choice Award, Mt. Gretna Art Show, Mt. Gretna, Penn.
Best in Fine Art, Art at the Meadow, Chapel Hill, NC
Award of Distinction, Art on the Lawn, Danville, Va
Best Watercolor Award, Sidewalk Art Show, Roanoke , Va.
Judge's Choice/Best Watercolor Award, Arts Alive, Ocean City, Maryland
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| 2006 |
"The Gordon Neal Memorial Award" Art on the Lawn, Danville, Virginia
"Best in Show", Whalehead Club Arts Festival, Corolla, NC
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| 2005 |
Best in Show,
Avenue of the Arts, Charlotte,
NC
Award of Distinction, Art
on the Lawn, Danville, VA
Allen Ingles Palmer (Best
Watercolor Award), Sidewalk
Art Show, Roanoke, VA |
| 2004 |
John Will
Creasy Memorial Award, Best
Watercolor; Sidewalk Art
Show, Roanoke, VA
Best Watercolor Arts Alive,
Ocean City, MD
Published: invited to be
included in "How Did
You Paint That? 100 Ways
to Paint Flowers & Gardens " |
|
2002 |
First Place Watercolor, Avenue
of the Arts, Charlotte,
NC
People's Choice Award, Virginia
Watercolor Society's 23rd
Jurored Exhibition
Winsor-Newton Award, Southern
Watercolor Society
Best In Show, Danville Art
League, Members Only
Best-in-Show, Daffodil Festival,
Gloucester, VA |
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