Kathleen Karlsen, Celestial Art, Canvas Abstracts, Abstract Acrylic Art

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY Art has always brought a comforting level of stability to my life. As the daughter of a career military officer, I moved repeatedly as a child. Art was something I could do all by myself, anywhere, anytime. In my early twenties, I fell in love with the West on a cross-country trip through the nation’s national parks. After completing my degree in studio art in 1987 at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, I moved to Montana and worked as a hosptality and events manager while teaching both art and music in community, classroom and studio settings. In 1997, I returned to school for a master's degree in humanities (art, music and philosophy) through a distance education program with California State University. My focus was the psychological and emotional impact of the arts and connections among various art forms. I studied extensively about the healing power of art and the symbolic meaning inherent in visual images. I was impressed by research demonstrating that images of nature are a powerful way to reduce stress, speed recovery times, and relieve depression. Abstract images have also been shown to improve brain activity, especially in those who have suffered from a traumatic illness or shock. My extensive experience with event management serves me well in my current capacity as the project manager for Living Arts Media (www.livingartsmedia.com), a web design, marketing and video production company I run with my husband Andrew. I also use my skills in writing, research and marketing to assist clients in achieving their goals. My expertise includes symbolism (www.livingartsoriginals.com) and visual design, web usability, search engine optimization, web marketing and visual interface design. I also have a year of post-graduate training in instructional design. I also teach art part-time in the Montessori elementary school where two of my children attend. I launched my career in professional art in 2001. I have now been living in Montana for twenty years and reside in Bozeman with my husband Andrew and our five children: Rose (17 yrs), Benjamin (15 yrs), Joseph (11 yrs), Michael (8 yrs) and Christopher (5 yrs).		ABOUT MY ARTWORK As an artist residing in the rural, western state of Montana, I have striven for years to find a unique niche that would be a contemporary approach to expressing the expansive spirit of the west in visual form. My work includes colorful florals and landscapes in a bright, impressionistic style and abstract acrylics with flowing colors and complex layering. The intense connection to nature, felt so keenly in the unspoiled Montana landscape landscape under a vast blue sky, actually extends beyond what we see in the physical world. My florals, forests and landscape have the added element of imagination that takes the viewer to a place where nature is always bursting with vitality. Montana's incredibly clear, dark night skies have also made The Treasure State a favorite spot for both amateur and professional astronomers. The expansiveness of the universe revealed by the Hubble Telescope extends my own artistic vision to include natural phenomenon that would normally remain unseen by the unaided human eye. These paintings are created through a process of multiple layers of thin acrylic washes. Some paintings include gold paint or glitter to simulate the effect of twinkling stars. Through this new series of paintings, created beginning in 2008, I hope that my artistic interpretation of the amazing vision of the universe provided by the Hubble telescope gives added meaning to the phrase “Big Sky Country”. ARTIST STATEMENT "Art is a universal language that brings comfort, healing, inspiration and joy to others. The central focus in my work is conveying vibrancy and energy. I seek to create art that is connected to the natural world around us while transcending that world. I believe that the power of art is more than the depiction of objective, physical reality. The real power of art is the feelings embodied in a particular visual image. I see art and beauty as having a major impact on human life. I believe that art has tremendous practical as well as aesthetic value. Research shows that art can help heal hospital patients, increase learning rates in classrooms and improve productivity in work places. For me, art enhances the entire process of living." Read Kathleen's article on WHY ART MATTERS.