About
Karen E. Thuermer is a realist-impressionistic artist. Her primary mediums are oil and watercolor and she experiments in printmaking and photography.
Karen painted early in life, encouraged by her accomplished artist mother and high school art teacher in Dayton, OH. She achieved a degree in Art History at Denison University and Masters Degree in Journalism, which piloted a career as a well-traveled, international journalist.
Karen has studied under Anna Paik (London, England); Michael Francis, Jacqueline Saunders, Susan O’Neil, Ted Reed (Art League School of Art, Alexandria, VA); and Elizabeth Floyd (Great Falls Art Center, Great Falls, VA). When the pandemic halted her overseas assignments, Karen turned to painting and further developed her style.
Her work has earned awards from Yorktown Plein Air, Williamsburg Contemporary Art Center, Art League Gallery, City of Alexandria, and Wayne Art Center. Her work is for sale and represented at Gallery 75, Art League Gallery, Alexandria, VA; WCAC, Williamsburg, VA; Williamsburg Playhouse Theater, and various venues in Northern Virginia and the Virginia Peninsula.
Karen is a member of the Art League in Alexandria, VA; Alexandria Plein Air Society, Miniature Painters, Sculptors & Gravers Society (MPSGS) of Washington, DC; Virginia Watercolor Society; Williamsburg Artist Group (WAG); Williamsburg Contemporary Art Center; Williamsburg Plein Air, and Tuesday Painters of Williamsburg, VA.
Karen resides in both Alexandria, VA and Williamsburg, VA.
Artist Statement
I love seeing the world as an artist. My eyes see shapes and shadows through a sensory lens before I even touch the canvas. Intellectually, I note the colors and take in the temperature and smells of that which surrounds me. With this information, I pick up my paintbrush and translate that intense mix of geometry and physical atmosphere into a cohesive painting.
My goal is to capture both the objective truth of the scene and my subjective experience through the magic of the realist-impressionistic style. I want to honor that which may be all-too familiar by making it unique – be it the dip in a road, the light on the side of the house, or a bouquet of flowers wrapped in an explosion of color intertwined with positive and negative space.
Creating art is my way of escaping and looking at the world around me. I am happy when I paint and inspired by what I see – places I have visited, people I have met, and the light -- that golden light, diffused light, contre-jour, or reflected light.
Painting slows down my world. Throughout my life as a journalist I have travelled the world, covered events, interviewed people, wrote stories, and met deadlines. As an artist, I’m also analytical, but I slow down, reflect and see the sublime. More recently, I have begun painting outdoors in plein air. I enjoy the creative and challenging process. It speaks to me and makes me feel alive.
Juried Shows
Art League Gallery (Torpedo Factory) in Alexandria, VA
Arts on Main Gallery in Gloucester, VA
Art Speaks on the Bay Exhibition, Mathews, VA
Charles H. Taylor Visual Arts Center, Hampton, VA.
Upper Marion Cultural Center, King of Prussia, PA
Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA
Special Exhibitions
Arts on Main Gallery in Gloucester, VA
Athenaeum Gallery in Alexandria, VA
Del Ray Artisans Gallery in Del Ray, VA
Great Falls Art Center, Great Falls, VA
Green Springs Garden in Alexandria, VA
Honey Tree Hill Farm in Charles City, VA
Links Bridge Vineyards, Thurmont, MD
National Press Club in Washington, DC
Oxon Hill Manor, Oxon Hill, MD
Strathmore Art Center in Bethesda, MD
Williamsburg Contemporary Art Center in Williamsburg, VA
Workhouse Arts Center, Lorton, VA
Awards
2026, Yorktown Plein Air, Third Prize
2024, Williamsburg Contemporary Art Center Regional Juried Show, Merit Award
2023, Williamsburg Contemporary Art Center Regional Juried Show, Merit Award
2022, Williamsburg Contemporary Art Center Regional Juried Show, Award of Excellence