Joyeux Noel!

This oil painting I started last year as a study of Michelangelo's Pieta sculpture. I decided to finish it for a family gift exchange and use the image for my digital Christmas card.

This year, instead of a store-bought gift, Aunt Jeanie suggested we each make something. We do the crazy exchange where we all draw numbers and choose a gift accordingly. Each subsequent person can choose a new gift or "steal" someone's.

I originally painted this with my sister, Lisa in mind-- and after several steals she ended up with it!

And may you have a creative, prosperous and happy New Year!

HOLIDAY SALE Paintings

Please note: Prices listed were a 2008 Holiday Special and no longer apply.
If you are interested in any of the following available paintings, please contact me at: info@KarenWallGarrison.com.

Thank you!





Sunflowers in Amber Glass
OIL PASTEL ON CANVAS, 20"X16" FRAMED $250


I am drastically reducing the prices on my paintings. I need to move them out of the studio and make room for new work. Maybe you will see something you can give a good home. Although I am listing prices, I am willing to consider all offers.



Many pieces are framed, some are "gallery wrap" canvases with the sides painted. If you wish to purchase a painting without it's frame, I will deduct accordingly.




Here are my Catalina paintings, the first one looking up from Crescent (Front Street) where the famous Marlin Club is located. A little further up is the ice cream & donut shop where I worked during the summer when I was 14. Avalon is an idylic place for a kid to spend the summer!






Catalina Avenue SOLD
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 12"X9" SIDES PAINTED $125






Here is the green pier captured just as dusk was turning to night.






Green Pier at Nightfall
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 12"X9" SIDES PAINTED $125

This view of the Casino was painted from the foot of the pier, captured quickly while waiting for my boat.

Casino View Quick Sketch
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS PANEL, 16"X12" FRAMED $150






I painted this small gem during a demonstration I was giving for one of my summer art classes. The kids were painting very enthusiastically and one splattered paint on my peachy background. She became very upset, having "ruined" my work. I decided it was a June Bug and I taught them about "happy accidents." After all-- it was June and there were June Bugs!



June Bug on Stucco SOLD
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 10"X8" FRAMED $100

This is Raymundo's Gallery where I exhibited my paintings in the East Village Arts District in Long Beach. Sadly, after many years Raymundo closed his studio. I'm glad I captured this, with one of his Freida Kahlo paintings in the window.




Raymundo's Gallery
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 20"X16" FRAMED $250

This is looking up Linden during one of the Art Walks in the East Village, capturing the Fire Dancers performing. I painted rapidly; more interested in the color, mood and energy of the scene, than a realistic portrayal; and in an expressionist manner. This is one of my favorite paintings from last year.

Fire Dancers ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 24"X24" PAINTED EDGES $350


Here is a small oil painting I did from a photo as a study using complimentary colors.





Peachy Beach SOLD
OIL ON CANVAS PANEL, 10"X8" UNFRAMED $75

And from my "Van Gogh Reproductions" collection:





Yellow Butterflies (after Van Gogh)
OIL ON CANVAS, 20"X16" FRAMED $250




Wheatfields With Sunrise, View from Asylum Window (after Van Gogh)
OIL ON CANVAS, 20"X16" PAINTED SIDES $200



Crows And Wheatfields (after Van Gogh)
OIL ON CANVAS, 30"X10" PAINTED SIDES $300



Crows And Wheatfields (after Van Gogh) DETAIL

Three Sunflowers (after Van Gogh)
OIL ON CANVAS, 16"X20" FRAMED $250

My Irises Chair, a la Vincent

OIL ON CANVAS, 20"X16" UNFRAMED $225


From my "Live Events" collection, the next two were painted at the Del Mar Music Festival during the concert performances.

Trio With Bass SOLD

ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 20"X16" FRAMED $250

George Thorogood SOLD
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 20"X16" FRAMED $250

This was painted on my friend's back porch while the breeze was causing the hanging blooms to sway, seeming to "spin" the colors.

Spinning Blooms

ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 20"X16" UNFRAMED $225

The Bridal Bouquet below was painted live during a Wedding Show at the Cenntenial Heritage Museum in Santa Ana.

Wedding Bouquet

ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 12"X12" UNFRAMED $125

This was painted during the Catalina Art Festival. My friend Silvio Silvestri, a painter whose work I greatly admire, is the subject.

Catalina Art Festival

ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 20"X16" FRAMED $250


The New York Skyline was painted live during another art festival this year, held in Irvine. I painted it from a sketch I made on one of my trips to the Big Apple.



Liberty Skyline
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 22"X28" UNFRAMED $275

Thank you for looking and please feel free to contact me if there is anything you are interested in, or want to commission me to paint a custom piece for you.

And may you have safe, sane and serene holidays!

Wedding at Temple B'nai Tikvah in North Brunswick, New Jersey

Last weekend I flew to New Jersey to paint at a wedding in North Brunswick at Temple B'nai Tikvah. The reception was held in a gorgeous ballroom.

This shows the beginnings of the painting, before guests arrive and the room is being set up.

This is my view of the room while it is being transformed into a wedding reception.

Several times the room went dark while they tested the lights. This shows the floral arrangements on the tables and hanging from the ceiling around the dramatic chandelier. During the reception itself, the lighting was bright and colorful.

The bride and groom posed for me before the reception started, which was very helpful. After the festivities began, it was difficult to see the dance floor.

Before the reception, the mother of the bride handed me a list of 22 people she wanted included in the painting. I manged to capture them all-- and then some!

The Making of a Hibiscus

I took this photo from a hibiscus bush in a client's backyard. I've always wanted to paint a large flower, so this became my inspiration. I started with a natural (unbleached) linen canvas. I don't know why-- it just felt right.

Without drawing, I just began painting; using the photo loosely for reference, laying in thin washes of color with acrylic paint (called glazes); allowing the colors underneath to glow through.

I find the hibiscus petals to have a sinous, lyrical quality and I tried to capture the grace and flow with my thin linework. I used my lettering brushes (flat, squared tips) to paint the thin lines.

Next, I began to add the dark areas to the background, and light highlights to the flower. Painting is a process of going from background to foreground, dark to light, back and forth and back again.

I added a golden yellow glaze overall to the background to create a sense of sunlight, as well as emphasize the dark center and petal edges.

Here is the finished painting, with the background darkened even more than the photo, which really makes the hibiscus bloom pop. The shadow cast by the stamen in the center is more prominent-- adding to the sense of dimension.

My client loved it so much, she purchased it for her guest bathroom. I left the sides of the canvas unpainted raw canvas, which matched the paint color on the walls.

It makes a stunning addition, don't you think?

Two Weddings in One Weekend!

Last weekend I had the distinct pleasure of painting at the Ritz Carlton in Dana Point-- a lovely sunset wedding on the cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Here is the view when I arrived approx. two hours before the start of the ceremony and began painting the scenery, which would serve as the background of the painting.

The sun was setting as the couple exchanged their vows.

You could see the outline of Catalina with the sun going down behind the island, and the sky turning a golden-pink color. It was a spectacular setting for a wedding!

I continued painting during the reception, putting finishing touches on the painting. Then I picked up my daughter, and her eight girlfriends who were spending the night, after an evening at "Knott's Scary Farm."

I packed my easel, paint palette, brushes, and a change of clothes and left for the airport in the dark hours of the morning. I flew into JFK Airport in New York and landed about 3:30pm Eastern Standard Time.

I rented a car and drove into New Jersey, heading for a suburb called River Vale, where I was booked to paint at a wedding scheduled to start at 7pm. I arrived at the Florentine Gardens Estate by 5:00, and set up for my second wedding in two days!






The groom hired me to paint a surprise gift for his bride. He wanted me to paint them on the dance floor, and capture grandparents, parents and several members of the bridal party.

The bride and groom were very pleased and their guests enjoyed watching me paint!

The following day, I drove into NY City to see a special van Gogh exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. Being that it was Columbus Day-- I drove smack into the Columbus Day Parade, going through the middle of Manhattan. I made it to see the van Gogh paintings, shopped a little in the museum store, drove back to JFK and got on my plane for home.

If I can spend the rest of my life painting at such happy occasions as weddings, and travel to exciting new places (and return to places I love like NYC and New Jersey)-- I will be a very happy camper!

Welcome to Somerset Lane

The client wanted to add "Somerset Lane" below the metal street numbers on the exterior of the house...



and a small "Welcome" at an angle above the doorbell intercom box with a little hand-written message to "Ring Bell"...



and butterflies!

Paradise Gardens Wedding

This is a new wedding painting from Paradise Gardens in Oceanside. The grounds are beautiful; with a lily pond, weeping willow, palms and green foilage all around. The red accent color makes a perfect compliment to all the greenery.







Here is the setting, with the gazebo as the main focal point. This was a smaller canvas which focused on the wedding party...





and the bride and groom exchanging their vows.

Lake Havasu Sketches

I managed to get away for a few days this summer and went to Black Meadow Landing at Lake Havasu to enjoy the beauty (and the heat!). These are my favorite sketches from the trip.



The paper is "crinkly" because I used watercolor pencil. The paper in my sketchbook is not really heavy enough for water. Oh, well.



This is a watercolor sketch that somehow didn't wrinkle the paper. I really like the simplicity of this one.




This is typical of my doodles, which always seem to have these cosmic spiral designs. Don't know where it comes from, but it's fun to just let go and draw.




The storm clouds were rolling in, which inspired the next "doodle":




We had the most glorious desert storm, with an incredible lightning display! Needless to say, I was stuck there until the following day, due to flash flooding.