Directing, dramatizing, and disrupting light to make images that are serene, reflective, and with a dreamlike quality, Karen Dang creates moods with a balance of diaphanous and literal imagery.

Distortion and reflection are major themes in Karen's art and so it is not surprising that she is attracted to and lives near the water. Her ability to conceive abstractly means that the view point changes constantly and the viewer can be submerged and drenched in color or high and dry with a never ending horizon. She is described as a colorist by her mentor Jeremy Morgan and is attracted to symbolism. But it is the color that speaks to her. Then Karen lets the oil paint do the work. “Sometimes I use silk-screened images, charcoal drawings, or detailed patterns underneath my complex layers of luminous paint. As I rework the painting, these underlying features may float and resurface.”

She's a bystander she says, just watching the transformation and listening. She melts into the zone of painting. “It's almost meditative if you will.” And the viewer sees mystery and sometimes melancholy. The painting does the thinking for her while she simply stays with it, present in the moment. That's where the creation is born. That is when the piece comes to life. It's this transformational process—from blank canvas to color—in her art that Karen loves most.

Karen Dang was educated at San Francisco Art Institute, California College of Arts and Crafts, and the SF Art Academy, and exhibits her works mainly on the west coast of America. Karen accepts commissions and can work in a variety of mediums. She prefers to get to know her patrons and work their personalities into the art.

You can download a PDF version of this information about Karen here.
Get a copy of Karen's art resume here (PDF).