She has now built up a large fan base on Instagram with her mysterious, colorful, yet dark artwork, which she likes to inspire with her imagination and fantasy. We love her art, with which she can always surprise us and take us into her little surreal world. In the interview with her, we learned everything about what inspires her, about her work and about her approach to art, which she uses to express herself, but also to heal herself.
Hi Karen! Tell us a little about yourself. What do you do for a living and how did that lead you to art?
Hello! Well, currently I work as a contractor for various brands and companies. My work mainly consists of creating content for social media and I am currently the head designer of the communications department of a magazine in Indianapolis, USA.
How did you get into photography?
Actually, I don't consider myself a photographer. I started doing my collages and photo editing mainly because I wasn't good at photography, hahaha...
But you have such a specific, surreal style. How did it come about?
I was ill for a few years, which radically changed my life plans. Eventually, this led to a depression that lasted for a few months. That's when I started creating surreal artworks as a kind of self-therapy. I have a very vivid imagination and my mind tends to wander endlessly. To be honest, this hasn't always been a blessing for me! It took me a while to understand and discover that my mind has the rather unusual "need" to always be unrealistic, to always be creative. It took me even more time to control this need, or rather to channel it, by learning how to use tools, from pencils to paintbrushes or my computer, instead of manipulating my own thoughts and feelings.
Now it's a daily therapy for me. It allows me to learn to wrap my feelings in works of art and it really is wonderfully healing for the mind!
So it's been a long road for me to discover my style and an even longer one to be known for it. At first I was inspired by other artists, which I think is pretty normal. If you look at my early work, you quickly realize that it's much more surreal than what you're doing now! As time went on, I felt more and more of a need to create something that people didn't know they were missing before. They may have seen thousands of photos of raccoons, lions, tigers, foxes, etc. But not the way I depict them - that's what they were missing. The perfect portrait of a tiger with a butterfly, a fox sneaking through flowers, or a raccoon peeking out from a bunch of beautiful succulents.
Of course, I think most artists change their style from time to time. I work not only with animals, but also with space and astronauts. But I think nature will always play a role for me and my art.
About your creative process: How do you come up with your ideas and how do you develop them into a finished work of art?
When I say I put my emotions into my artwork, I mean it almost literally, haha! I edit guided by my emotions - that's the healthiest way for me to let them out. It's about what I want to express when I create something. For example, people might see a piece and say, "Oh, that tiger is beautiful!" But have they seen its eyes, I wonder? Have they noticed the special sadness or melancholy I've given them? It's not always about the beauty, or how cute the animal looks. I love it when people understand the deeper message or meaning behind my works. But ultimately, I make the art for myself first and foremost, and I don't really plan on changing that.
How long does it take you on average to create one of your creations?
Oh, it really varies! Some of them are done in 15 minutes and others take about 2 hours or more. Sometimes I also share short tutorials to show people that sometimes you don't need a lot of time to create something amazing. I rarely have more than 20 layers in Photoshop, haha!
How does it feel to have built such a following on IG? Do you often collaborate or work with other IGers?
I am so happy and extremely grateful for my Instagram following. They are the main reason I can pursue my passion and do what I love most.
I'm often in contact with other people on Instagram and have made a lot of good friends through the platform. But I don't really collaborate or work together with anyone. Not because I'm not interested in it, but I think I have a very specific way of working and so such an opportunity rarely arises.
Last but not least - what are your personal favorite profiles?
Oh, I have so many! But here are a few of my favorites:
@indg0
@sienna.and.i
@hey.luisa
@alexandriaslens
@the_life_of_aivax
@sarashakeel
@lucialitman
@tedslittledream
