Karen Vradenburg - Karen Vradenburg

I create representational and abstract landscapes and waterscapes that depict my attraction to nature: plant life, earth, air, and especially water.

Encaustic painting allows me to celebrate this love of water. With its flowing nature and transformative properties, water serves as a metaphor for renewal and rebirth. Much like the way in which water replenishes and rejuvenates, my pieces aim to capture the essence of renewal, offering a sense of hope and optimism.

Life often requires keeping things orderly, controlled, and predictable, to prevent things from getting too chaotic. Art has always been my escape from this turmoil, a place where I could let go of my need to control everything. The materials I use today are made from things that were once alive, and that life continues to assert itself in my paintings. Because I can’t control the outcome completely, I stop trying, and simply accept what happens. In this instance, rather than creating chaos, giving up control brings a sense of peace and freedom.

Growing up in the foothills of the Adirondacks, Karen Vradenburg developed a love of nature at an early age. With much to explore in the woods around her home, each season brought a new point of view and new wonders to appreciate.

After studying commercial art and receiving her degree in photography, her priorities initially put an art career on the back burner. Karen went on to have careers in areas as diverse as copy editing, data analysis, and finance. Throughout these experiences, she continued to find opportunities for creating, whether through sewing and needlework, mural painting, watercolors, or constructing with found objects.

This need to create eventually led Karen to decide to leave the corporate world and become the artist she was always meant to be. She soon discovered and fell in love with encaustic painting, and has enjoyed exploring the wonders of this versatile medium.

Now living lakeside in upstate New York, Karen is surrounded by inspiration for her abstract landscapes, waterscapes, and sculptures.

Prints, small paintings, and other pieces are available. Click here.

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