Karen Rolfes recently reflected on how nature and the seasons influence her work as an oil painter.

“Whether it is water, trees, gardens, or flowers, it’s all about color to me. I take a scene and reinterpret it in my mind, and then make it more interesting with design and enhancing the color.”

Karen shares that her paintings are all about nature. She enjoys offering art work that is reflective of the season, which means she’s typically painting one season ahead of time. As each season approaches, she has the urge to paint it, and since she understands that people love to shop for fall in the fall, for example, she will begin her work early enough to make sure it is ready and available by then.

While Karen does anticipate what to paint ahead of the official arrival of that season, she shared that there is one season she can draw upon most year round: Summer. “The summer can be year round, with people traveling and/or having second homes where it is warm, so it is one that I can always imagine and paint for.” 

When asked about the transition from summer to fall and winter, Karen didn’t balk: “Winter has a lot of color! It’s not just grays and whites, it is all about color for me. It’s so beautiful that we get to see all these changes in colors right in front of us.”

Karen also shared that a painting is a very personal thing. Depending on who the person is, where they live, what their home is like, and what color palette they are most drawn to can and should be taken into consideration when creating art. With this comes the opportunity to commission a piece by Karen, and what could be more personal of a gift than that? 

Karen’s take on the beauty and color that surrounds us all year long as inspiration for her work only inspires us to not only take in the beauty of the world around us, but to also value the work of an artist who can help us see it so wonderfully.

For more information—and inspiration—make sure to be following Oil Paintings by Karen Rolfes on Instagram, or check out her website here. And should you contact her, visit her Madeira gallery studio, or reach out about commissioning a piece, make sure to tell her #TheScoutGuide sent you!

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Photos by Ross Van Pelt