Karen Brown
About Karen Brown
Karen Brown (she/her) is an encaustic artist whose work is motivated by a deep connection with nature, which serves as a source of renewal, energy, and peace. Nature provides her with limitless inspiration, leading to both realistic and abstract expressions. She primarily works with encaustic, an ancient beeswax-based paint that is applied and heated to create rich layers with unique depth and luminosity. Karen’s artwork aims to evoke imagery and sensations of colour and movement, often imbued with a hint of mystery.
Her artistic journey began with studying under excellent instructors and experimenting with a variety of mediums and styles. Although largely self-taught, Karen has attended numerous courses, including fine arts programs at Brock University, Sheridan College, and Mohawk College. A pivotal moment occurred when she worked with encaustic artist Andrea Bird at the Alton Mill in Ontario, where she fell in love with the depth and qualities of encaustic. Karen enjoys working with this medium because it resists full control, offering an unpredictable creative path. While its archival qualities are superior to any other, the true beauty of encaustic lies in its luminosity.
Karen’s influences come from everything she sees, feels, and experiences. She creates from the heart, expressing the world around her through her work. Encaustics allow her to convey the natural energy of the earth into her paintings. She often works with recycled, repurposed found materials as substrates, resulting in earth-friendly, karma-friendly, and soul-friendly artwork.
Drawn to the inherent beauty and spirit of the natural world, Karen’s artwork is a personal dialogue with the stillness of that spirit. Her process is studio-intensive but begins outdoors, where she gathers visual and emotive references through experience, photography, drawing, and painting. In the studio, these references are transformed into dream-like pieces enhanced by layers of photography, wax, and paint. For Karen, encaustic painting is a deeply satisfying, solitary process. Her paintings evolve into compositions of colour, with encaustic paint forming a multilayered surface that appeals to both visual and tactile senses.
“It’s not art until it becomes personal,” Karen says. Her work reflects this personal connection to life and art, striving to express who she is through her creations.
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