After fifteen years of designing and printing t-shirts, Karen transitioned to fine art through the urging of her fellow artist, friend, and mentor Larry Poncho Brown. Karen created and sold works during “The Golden Age of African Art” between 1985-2000. This period made art accessible to the masses through direct participation in community art exhibits and cultural festivals. As a result, Karen’s artwork has been nationally feature in ”Images Magazine” and prominently featured on several TV shows including “In Living Color, “Roc”, and ‘Uptown Comedy Club”. Of recent, her work was featured in the movies “Coming To America II” and “Halloween Kills”. Her work is also included in the private collections of several prominent celebrities to includeToni Braxton, Will Downing, the late Aretha Franklin, Queen Latifah, Sheryle Lee Ralph, Jada Pickett Smith, and Avery Sunshine.
Karen is the recipient of Baltimore’s own 2014 “Unsung” art exhibition “Female Artist of the Year”, The 2007 National Coalition of 100 Black Women’s Art and Culture award, and the 2002 recipient of the Black Heritage Visual Arts Association’s, “Favorite Emerging Artist”. Karen is the first female featured artist of three national level events: Black Heritage Art Show (Baltimore, MD) Capital Jazz Festival (Columbia, MD), and Sankofa Fine Arts Plus (Cleveland, OH). Her "Delta Business" sculpture is prominently displayed in The Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated National Headquarters in Washington, DC.
Karen artistic contributions extends well beyond her unique artistic renderings her art is also cathartic. She has facilitated several art therapy session throughout the Washington, DC Metropolitan Region.
“In my artwork, you will see a different perspective of how negative and positive spaces interact. Allow your eye to travel the lines and sharp edges drawn by my precision knife which speaks of the development of my style.
“Collectors have describe my work as irregular, eccentric, different, unusual, and unconventional. I will continue to look at everyday images in this unorthodox way. Art has allowed me to speak feelings that I can’t always express with words. I hope I can inspire young people to know that art has a voice.”
