Urban Shoreline

About

With paper, pens and glue in hand, Karen finds a sheltered spot against a harbour wall and gets to work using unusual materials such as discarded tickets, painted tissues and dressmaking patterns to create  multi layered images of once loved boats, harbours and docks.  

Says Karen:  “Growing up on the east coast of Yorkshire as a happy beachcomber, I was attracted to the faded painted wood, scraps of gaudy plastic, brightly coloured fishing floats and nets: all sun dried, sand blasted, salted and weathered. Childhood memories of old boats, harbours and the sun-salty smell of tarpaulin and diesel have stayed with me. Still today, I naturally gravitate towards the harbour in any coastal town”.    

In Karen’s paintings you can feel the calm and shelter of the harbour, but also the waiting and anticipation of new journeys and new arrivals, amongst the daily routine of local fishing boats. 

Karen’s colourful, vibrant collages hang in homes all over the world. She exhibits in Ipswich and Cambridge has also been published on book covers and magazines.