Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Karen Brenner, Equine Artist



Equine artist Karen Brenner creates luminous oil paintings of beautiful horses. She is well known for Capturing Beautiful Moments in the Lives of Horses. She enjoys traveling to farms and equine events to photograph horses for her work. Her rich colors and closely cropped compositions are trademarks of her unique style.

Karen's book, Beautiful Moments in the Lives of Horses, is a collection of over 80 of her favorite paintings combined with over 200 of her equine photographs.




Welcome Karen!


When was your first encounter with a horse?
My family got a darling black and white pony, Buttermilk, when I was in first grade. Horses were all my twin sister and I thought about after that. We spent hours outside playing with our ponies (and later horses).


Do you have a favorite horse breed?
I love all breeds, but my very favorite breed would have to be Andalusians – and Arabians, Morgans, Quarter Horses, Friesians, Paints, Pintos, Welsh Cobbs, Saddlebreds, Spanish Mustangs, wild mustangs, Miniatures, and of course ALL Draft Horses (not necessarily in that order). And of course I love whatever breed I’m painting!

What medium do you use for your beautiful creations?
Thanks for the compliment! My paintings are oils on masonite. I start with translucent layers of pure color, overlapping colors, almost like you would create a watercolor painting.

Describe your studio...
Think of a living room with a drafting table, and lots of paintings everywhere. There are usually wet oil paintings drying under the couches and TV stand, stacks of paintings against the furniture, and paintings leaning against the doorway to keep our Airedale, Rooney, from coming in and shedding on the wet oil paintings.



Do you have a muse or favorite creative companion?
No…. just wonderful memories of all the horses I’ve met and get to paint.

Do you have a favorite painting of your own creation?  
I have lots of favorite paintings.
All of Karen's creations are stunning!
Who is your favorite artist?
I love Monet – with his pure colors dancing delightfully on the canvases of his beautiful paintings. And George Inness’ work is awesome. His depiction of light in nature seems surreal.

Do you have advice for novice artists?
Experiment with different styles and techniques, then do what you love most.

Where are you currently exhibiting?
I’m having a Studio Open House,
Sunday, July 13, 2014. It’s a celebration of color – with colorful paintings (which do look better in person than on the internet) throughout my house and colorful daylilies, which I’ve hybridized, in my gardens.

List 10 things that people may not know about you...
People may not know I am working on a series of paintings called the Beautiful Horses of…” I hope to travel to all 50 states and photograph horses, and then create a painting of each of the horses I visit. This summer, the "Beautiful Horses of Colorado" will be my 10th state. And most people do not know the nine states I’ve already visited. Hey – that’s 10 thing! LOL

Contact Karen to commission an oil painting of your horse!
Horse Paintings by Karen Brenner
Capturing Beautiful Moments in the Lives of Horses
www.karenbrenner.com



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