
For you readers, I hope you enjoy Karla's art work as you read the article!
First, tell me about yourself. Family? Work? –
I
am a Colorado Native, lived here all my life except for 6 months in Kansas,
staying with my sister and working two jobs, one was at Hallmark cards - should
have stayed but got so homesick for Colorado and the mountains. I grew up in
Arvada, with 3 brothers, a sister and always lots of pets. A bit of a tomboy, I
enjoyed playing in the dirt, which is why I probably love gardening. I have
worn many hats over the years one was being a florist for 15 years. Art has
always been a part of my life and I decided to see about incorporated it into a
career so I went back to school and received a degree in graphic design and
Illustration. I then decided I preferred the fine art and followed my heart. I
am now at a few galleries in Colorado as well as selling at Fineartamerica and
from my website artistkarla.co.
I know that you do portraits of animals from pictures. I’m sure people love to have a painting of their beloved pet. Has that been pretty successful for you? –
I
love animals. I am working on a series right now of wildlife in the Rocky
Mountains. As far as the commissioned pieces, it started with one person asking
if I would do a piece for them and it has grown from there. I hope to start
some work with my own dogs for a book I am writing and illustrating. I love
cats and dogs but will paint just about anything so if anyone wants a
commission piece they may leave a message on my website.
Tell
us about your work with Vitamin Cottage, one of my favorite stores. –
I
worked with Vitamin Cottage, now Natural Grocers for over 13 years and managed
the Health & Beauty department. I loved merchandising and creating fun
endcap displays. They would also let me display my art in the store I worked
at. So that was awesome. I then left to work as a sales representative in the
health industry and to spend more time with my art. I started making my art
into cards (also prints and journals) to sell at the galleries. Just recently I
was able to get my cards and mini journals placed at Natural Grocers. I am in
most of the Colorado stores.
People
would ask and I liking the challenge said yes. It was the same when I was a
florist. Finding a way to take their ideas, or just photos, and capture the
energy, the essence of what they wanted brought me joy. I feel we are all here
to share our talents.
If
you could go anywhere on vacation tomorrow, where would it be? –
Well
it is funny you should mention that but next week we are heading up to
Breckenridge, but anywhere in the mountains feeds my soul. Then to the other
extreme, I love the ocean and diving. Third would be going to explore Europe,
Tuscany is coming up then we will put Ireland on the list. I have been to
Scotland and England and it brought up some feelings of belonging there...
Finished!
Now we just have to prepare it for when it is ready to go to press. It was a
challenge getting the colors just right but it was fun to do! I usually work
with mostly watercolor and this painting is done with acrylic. I was able to at
least change it easier as we headed in the right direction of what needed to be
accomplished.
I
am open to doing most everything. It allows me to grow as an artist when I
challenge myself and sometimes others to achieve the desired goals.
Thanks
for being a sport and answering all of my questions. I hope some of my readers
leave you a comment. It’s always fun to get to know the people behind the
scenes.
Love, Lisa
I just wanted to stop by and say how great the cover of Lore turned out! It is by far my favorite cover in the series to date! Great Job!
ReplyDeleteAlso - the Dog image above is exceptional. Amazing detail!