About the Artist
Karen Luke Fildes
Karen Luke Fildes (formerly known as Karen Pew), born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, is an oil painter obsessed with moments. “Whether it is a grey, cold, and melancholy day on a drive in Scotland or a perfect glass of wine on the Rhine with the moonrise, I must paint it. Sometimes finding the moment worth preserving is not so easy… so I go and search for it. It’s a way to stop everything and express gratitude… moments pass by us too quickly sometimes and we need to keep noticing the little things to live well. This is my way of living well.”
“Another way of preserving moments is to build an altar from the pieces of life that remind me of the people and memories I want to keep alive.” Series were painted fifty at a time to absorb the subject of interest. Some of the pieces in the gallery were captured in Central Europe where she completed fifty paintings of the Rhineland Pfalz. Karen also studied paintings and journal entries from the Prinzhorn Collection in Heidelberg; paintings from asylums created under psychiatric treatment during and after WWII.
Her painting and teaching studio is in Seattle where she is nearly finished with 500 tone poems capturing moments with light. Karen studied at Chapman University, the Art Institute of Seattle, and studied color - the fresh palette - with Henry Stinson. She continues to research color therapy, depression and the healing power of art through the living journal. Her studio is on Fremont Avenue in Seattle, Washington. She especially enjoys painting by candlelight, twilight, and after storms. Her palette is limited to seven colors. Karen uses “the Book of Kells” as symbolic reference for underpainting and highlight punctuation.
For a private viewing of current paintings, contact the artist at northwestcolor@gmail.com
To schedule a consult for lessons or commissions, call Karen at 206-595-2171
Also see upcoming shows.