Resume

KAREN OLSEN

Karen Olsen is a Silicon Valley, California-based watercolor artist.

EDUCATION

Karen holds a BA from the University of Michigan. She studied fine art and illustration at Academy of Art College in San Francisco and at Foothill College in Los Altos, California, where she concentrated in illustration and graphic design. She has also studied in private settings with Barbara Johnston, Skip Cantwell, Sam Smidt and others, and in plein airworkshops with Kristin Olson, Mitch Baird, and others.

WORK AND STYLE

Karen’s painting history exists in two periods. The first lasted about four years, then resumed in 2010. In between, she founded and operated a successful graphic design and illustration firm. She now focuses on landscape painting in watercolor, much of it en plein air, and travels extensively to research and paint new subjects. Recently she began reaching back to her childhood, when she was happily obsessed with horses, to create work that was featured recently in a three-artist gallery exhibit, “Wild Spirits: Horses as Visions of Romance and Freedom”.

SELECTED EXHIBITS

“Feathers, Fur, and Fins”, Pacific Art League, Palo Alto
(award-winning work: “King of Sweden”)

“Figures and Faces”, Pacific Art League

“Landscapes, Cityscapes, and Seascapes”, Pacific Art League

“Food, Farm, and Community”, Pacific Art League

“Spring Is Springing”, Pacific Art League

Peninsula Jewish Community Center 2014 Biennial Art Exhibition,

Foster City, California

Peninsula Jewish Community Center 2016 Biennial Art Exhibition,

Foster City, California

Peninsula Jewish Community Center 2018 Biennial Community Art Exhibition, Foster City, California

Solo show, Konditorei, Portola Valley, California

Solo show, “Drips, Dribbles, Puddles, Ponds: Water in Watercolor”, Aegis Gallery, Saratoga, California

Trio show, “Wild Spirits: Horses as Visions of Romance and Freedom”, Aegis Gallery, Saratoga, California

Solo show, “From Grand to Sublime: Grand Canyon and Yosemite in Watercolor”, Aegis Gallery, Saratoga, California

“Aquarius 2016” Watercolor Exhibition, San Luis Obispo

“Aquarius 2017” Watercolor Exhibition, San Luis Obispo

“Plein Air Festival Exhibition”, Viewpoints Gallery, Makawao, Hawaii

“Greater Bay Area Open Exhibition 2016”, NUMU (New Museum Los Gatos), California
(award-winning work: “French Pears”)

“Greater Bay Area Open Exhibition 2017”, NUMU (New Museum Los Gatos), California

U Art Open, University Art Center, Redwood City

“Runes Revealed”, Scandinavian Cultural Center, Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington

“Runes Revealed II”, Adobe Gallery, Pleasanton, California

Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society Annual Show, 2018
(award-winning work: “Moonrise Over Grand Canyon”)

COLLECTORS

Karen teaches watercolor classes at Mountain View/Los Altos Adult School and at Los Altos Recreation and Community Services. She also leads workshops and demonstrations at local arts organizations.