Plein Air Artists of Colorado Featured Artist Article October 2015

Plein Air Artists of Colorado Featured Artist Article of October 2015:
PAAC Article – Karen Halbert
Short Bio: 

Karen strives to transform the beauty of mathematics into her art,
utilizing her knowledge of areas such as dynamic symmetry, fractals
and chaos theory. The “hidden harmony” of Karen's work is shown in
her cloud fractals, wave patterns and stream flows as well as cliff
striations and tessellations. Karen grew up in the West, but moved
East as an adult to attend college and pursue a career as a college
professor of mathematics and computer science, and later as a Wall
Street executive. She eventually settled in Woodstock, New York to
fulfill her life-long dream of being an artist, but ultimately was drawn
back West to the artist-rich town of Santa Fe. Karen continues to use
her computer skills as a volunteer Website Administrator for the Plein
Air Painters of New Mexico.

When did you first become interested in art?
As a child, I loved to draw and paint and I won the high school award
for art (I still have the pin in my jewelry chest). I chose another
passion, mathematics, as a more practical career.

Where do you sell your work? ( galleries, festivals,
internet...)
I am represented* by the Purple Sage Gallery in Albuquerque and am
planning a featured artist show in December 2015, titled, "Hidden
Harmony". Two of my paintings will be at the New Mexico Art League
in October in the "Biologique" exhibition. This exhibition features art
inspired by nature with concepts such as the "Golden Mean", Fibonacci
sequence, π (Pi), fractals, and mathematical harmony underlying the
works. My works sell through the gallery and exhibitions sponsored by
PAPNM and PAAC as well as through my website,
www.karenhalbert.com.

What is your biggest challenge when painting en plein air?
My biggest challenge is simplifying the scene before me. Allowing my
mind to play with mathematical concepts helps me in the process.

Briefly describe your most interesting or funny plein air
experience.

This is really an experience that is an aftermath of plein air
experiences: Six years ago while walking my dog in Santa Fe, I
encountered a woman who took one look at me and immediately
exclaimed, "So, you are a painter!" “What do you mean?,” I
responded. She pointed at the paint on my clothes (I do find that
paint gets all over me especially when I paint outside) and my plein air
hat. As a (plein air) painter herself from Cape Cod, she was
completely aware of the significance! That woman is now my best
friend. Art and painting still remain our favorite topics of conversation
on our daily walks with our dogs, Chili and Caleb, both red standard
poodles.

Please tell me about an interesting non-– art aspect of
yourself that people might be surprised to know.
Some people might not know that I was a computer programmer, and
then the manager/executive on software projects that are still being
used to drive trading on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Another, perhaps more interesting fact, is that I lived in Honolulu in
high school and return frequently. I have painted in Molokai at the
Leper Colony and Honolulu and plan to travel to the North Shore of
Oahu to paint at the end of this year for a few weeks. I will look for
the hidden harmony in the waves, the cliffs and the clouds.

What is your long-term goal as an artist?
To improve my skills and to impart any knowledge that I have been
acquiring in small classes. Also, to enter more competitions that will
hone my skills.

Any tips on tools, techniques or gear for the budding plein
air artist
Simplify the landscape: look for the big shapes and worry about the
details only at the end, if at all. Keep your equipment light and have it
ready at all times for that moment of inspiration.

What advice do you give an artist just starting out?
Use solvent-free materials; the health hazards of solvents are wellknown.
I recently acquired this as my motto, and I am teaching a class
in solvent-free oil painting in Arizona this winter. Also, work with a
limited palette, a cool and warm of each primary for a more

harmonious painting.



Karen at the Santa Fe River

"Santa Fe River Flows I", 6x12, oil by Karen Halbert



*Addendum. Karen is now also reprented by the Marigold Arts Gallery on Canyon Road in Santa Fe, NM.



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