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Karen Lee Crenshaw has been drawing “since she used to scribble on the walls as a child.” She was born in South Dakota and reared in West Virginia, where she obtained a B.S. in Art Education from Concord University. After teaching in Rockbridge County, VA she returned to her studies at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. receiving a Master of Fine Arts in Painting. She now maintains her studio and resides in Jacksonville, NC with her husband and children. There she continues landscape painting and accepts commissions for portraits. |
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| Her paintings have been exhibited and have won awards throughout WV, VA, NC, and Washington, D.C. Her palette shows the influence of the Impressionists with her use of high-keyed hues – soft cobalt and cerulean blues and deep, rich greens and violets. The play of light is reminiscent of Edward Hopper, yet the mood and image are warm and comfortable. The viewer experiences an instant kinship with the image, a place from one’s happy memories. |  |
| “Having grown up in a sheltered valley in the mountains of West Virginia, I am fascinated with open spaces and vast water vistas. I am particularly intrigued by the pinkish-blue tones of the early morning and the amber light of late afternoon. When the sun is low on the horizon, it creates wonderful contrasts of forms and oblique angles and shapes. Many of my paintings are examples of this lighting effect and are images the North Carolina coast and the Potomac River near Washington, D.C. ” | |
