Since I began my art career almost 40 years ago, I have been showing my artistic creations at studio tours, art festivals, open houses, fund raisers, juried shows, and art galleries.

Over that time, almost 1,000 of my watercolour paintings have made their way, one by one, into the hearts and homes of people near and far. It warms my soul to know my creations bring peace and joy to the daily lives of so many people.

While the majority of my artworks reside with collectors in Canada and the USA, several of my paintings have become world travellers. So far, to my knowledge, my paintings are enjoyed in at least 24 countries. How cool is that!?

One of my recent travellers, Mazinaw Memoir (varnished watercolour on 6 x 12 inch panel), is shown here. It came about after a camping trip in Bon Echo Provincial Park, near Cloyne, Ontario.

I posted the finished piece on Facebook in early December and caught the eye of a long time friend and former co-worker, who now lives and works in Cairo, Egypt. She sent me a message to acquire the painting and later picked it up at my studio while she was in Ontario visiting family for Christmas. Her message mentioned "It was one of my favourite camping places when I was young. So many memories!".

It makes me smile to think of this Ontario lake scene residing in the Middle Eastern desert, bringing happy childhood memories to a Canadian living abroad.

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When I created this charming watercolour scene last July in our Airstream trailer, I loved the peaceful feeling the artwork conveyed.

While I have made over 400 paintings about rocks, this was my first one with a dragonfly. It was pure joy to recreate the body markings and delicate wings of this exquisite creature.

At the time, I had no idea how profoundly this little dragonfly at rest on a pebble beach would touch the hearts of thousands of people I have never met.

First, a little back story:

A Place of Rest, varnished watercolour on 10 x 10 inch panel was inspired by a photo I took in 2019 of a Mosaic Darner dragonfly at L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic site in Newfoundland.

I selected these uniquely striped stones from my vast pebble collection (many of which also came from Newfoundland) to use as painting references.

Then I sketched a still life scene showing the smooth stones nestled together between a few large boulders. One of those boulders became the dragonfly's perch.

In August I introduced this painting along with several more in my Studio Newsletter. One of my subscribers, a collector of my work in Georgia, USA, moved swiftly and acquired A Place of Rest for her home.

This fall, I entered a digital image of A Place of Rest into the Richeson75 international online art competition and it was accepted as a Finalist. As is my habit, I announced this happy news on Facebook, and that is when things got really exciting very quickly.

Here is my Facebook post from November 20:

I am thrilled to announce that my watercolour painting A Place of Rest has been selected as a Finalist in the Richeson75 Animals, Birds, and Wildlife 2025 annual international competition.
Typically, this prestigious event attracts submissions from 3,500 artists in over 70 countries, so it is an incredible honour to see my little painting from Canada be accepted by the jury.
The 75 Finalists and Winners paintings are on permanent display online at
https://richeson75.com/pages/wildlife/2025/index.html There are some awesome pieces here so do check them out!
A Place of Rest (varnished watercolour on 10 x 10 inch panel) now resides in the home of one of my collectors in Georgia, USA. She sent me this lovely note: "Your painting arrived. When I opened it, my husband said "wow, that's amazing!" You have a gift for watercolor realism I haven't seen from any other artist. Thanks so much - you can rest assured your work will be well appreciated in its new home."

I was not prepared for, and cannot explain, the avalanche of good wishes that came my way in response to this post. Shown below are Facebook's audience engagement stats as of November 24.

Including two Facebook group sites where I shared my post, in the span of four days it has been viewed over 100,000 times, reached over 70,000 people, and attracted over 5,000 interactions including almost 1,000 comments. I have never had a post receive this much attention in all the years I have been on Facebook.

In the midst of all this excitement, several people asked if they could order prints of my dragonfly painting, so I got to work on that right away.

I am happy to report, A Place of Rest is now available as art prints from my online publisher Fine Art America. (Just in time, in case they have a Black Friday Sale!)

Prints of this dragonfly painting can be ordered on your choice of substrates (paper, canvas, metal, acrylic, wood, or fabric) in sizes ranging from 8 x 8 inches to 36 x 36 inches. Fine Art America will create a custom archival print to your specifications and ship directly to you from their closest manufacturing facility. Shown here is an example of a framed paper print. Check out my entire collection of art prints here.

And that is the remarkable tale of how my little dragonfly went viral.

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Recently I shipped this commissioned work, 'Northern Haven', varnished watercolour on 11 x 14 inch panel, to Michelle J, a collector in Atlanta, Georgia. One might wonder why someone living in the southern USA would chose this particular scene from the Muskoka region. It's an interesting story and Michelle gave me permission to share it here.

Her great grandfather, Dr. Herbert Leslie Barber, was the doctor for Parry Sound District in Ontario, roughly 1900-1927. His mother lived with him, his wife, and their five children in a house in Burk’s Falls. 

They also owned a large red brick cottage on Lake Cecebe, between Burk's Falls and Magnetawan, complete with an ice house, wooden boat, and screened in sleep porch - very traditional for the Almaguin Highlands. The family used to take the steamer from Burk's Falls to the cottage and stay for the summer. 

Michelle's mother grew up spending summers on Lake Cecebe, followed by Michelle and her sisters as well. Michelle's father bought a tiny cottage down the lake on the Magnetawan River, which was the main place for the five-some every summer.

Michelle searched online for artists painting Muskoka scenery and showing artwork in Huntsville, and found my web site. 

While perusing my artworks, she came across an image of In This Moment, (pictured here) which I had painted six years earlier. 

It reminded her of a small islet her family would pass by boat every time they visited her grandparents at their cottage on Lake Cecebe. 

She sent me this message last February: "Karen, I love your work. I grew up spending every summer in Magnetawan. My roots are in Burk's Falls. I absolutely love "In This Moment" and understand that it is now sold. Is there any chance you could/would be willing to do another?"

I was very happy to create a new version of this scene, and agreed to paint it for her by the spring.

The next day, she let me know that her Dad also took them fishing on Georgian Bay at least once a summer, so anything with granite outcroppings spoke to her as well.

She decided to acquire a second painting of mine, A Place to Dream, varnished watercolour on 12 x 9 inch panel, (pictured here), as a birthday gift for her youngest sister. It fit squarely in their memory of sitting lakeside and at Georgian Bay. 

The young man in the painting also looked like her nephew. Between the three sisters, they have five children who are now the 6th generation on the lake, and they love it too. 

This painting was on display at Colborne Street Gallery in Fenelon Falls, ON, so I put Michelle in contact with them to arrange the sale.

As I began working on the commission in late March, I knew the wet-in-wet sky and its reflection would be relatively high risk to paint, so I started two paintings of the same scene.

I figured at least one would work out well, and if both were successful, Michelle could chose her favourite and I could send the other one to Colborne Street Gallery to replace A Place to Dream.

Both paintings turned out beautifully and Michelle chose Northern Haven (the top painting pictured here, and also shown at the top of this post).

I kept Solitude's Embrace, varnished watercolour on 11 x 14 inch panel, (the bottom painting) for the gallery in Fenelon Falls.

In early May, I shipped Northern Haven to Michelle and after it arrived, she sent me this message:

"I absolutely LOVE the painting. First of all, it’s exactly like the Ontario lakes in my mind. Second, your style is so precise for watercolor. I’ve never seen anything like it and am extremely impressed by how you make the medium work. Thank you - I’m sure our paths will cross again."

I do love a happy ending. It makes me smile to think of this little island scene residing in the deep south, bringing joyful Canadian summer memories to several generations.

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The term 'shakedown' often has negative connotations, such as a swindle, an unwelcome search, or a radical restructuring of a company. But an Airstream Shakedown is a happy occasion - the first group camping weekend of the season by the Ontario unit of Airstream Club International.

The event is called a Shakedown because it is an opportunity to check that all systems are working properly in our trailers, after they have emerged from winter storage, and that we remember how to operate everything. We make sure any wear and tear issues are identified and resolved before extensive summer travel begins. Usually we discover items we forgot to bring with us from home, and add them to our checklists.

Sixteen Airstream trailers of all sizes and vintages gathered for a long weekend early in May, to check over our rigs and enjoy some relaxed, social time together. It was lovely to renew friendships after the winter break, and to make new friends.

Our 2025 Shakedown was held in the Richmond fairgrounds, on the outskirts of Ottawa, ON. Facilities included water and electrical connections, and access to a dump station for emptying our wastewater tanks prior to leaving. 

We enjoyed lawn chair happy hours in the sunshine (pictured above) as well as catered breakfasts and a delicious pot luck dinner in the adjacent community hall. Some of us visited area flea markets, craft shows, and yard sales and found a few treasures to take home.

One evening, my husband hosted a Canadian trivia game slide show to entertain the group, and I gave a slide show of recent paintings and the steps of making my landscape painting And Nothing Else Matters (shown here).

Coincidentally, I delivered this painting to its new owners at the Shakedown, and they proudly showed it off to the audience after my slideshow.

That presentation lead to the sale of one of my rustic Canadian flag paintings, to our new Airstream friends Patrick and Caroline (shown above), who will be hanging it in their beautiful trailer. They camp and travel full time throughout North America every summer and have a YouTube channel called @RoadTripEscapades. Patrick shared the awesome drone photos he took of the Shakedown, and allowed me to use them in this post. 

Airstreamer Jim McQuaid took the above photo of the encampment at sunset one evening. Our trailer is in the middle, with a purple entrance light beside the door. 

The Richmond Shakedown was a relaxing way to enjoy spring weather in the company of many wonderful friends, and start off the camping season on the right foot. My husband and I have arranged four awesome camping trips to various regions of Canada this summer, so stay tuned for highlights in future posts.

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This past winter, a Facebook friend sent me notice of an upcoming international online art competition. 

I don't often take the time to enter these competitions, which are offered by organizations all over the world, because it takes a lot of investigating to determine which ones are legitimate. 

This competition caught my attention, however, because it was offered by the Society of Canadian Artists, a prestigious, well-known, not-for-profit, Canadian arts organization.

After learning their mandate is "Fostering the visibility and stature of the visual arts in Canada", I decided I wanted to support this national organization in its efforts to promote professional Canadian artists and their artwork. 

I joined the Society in February as an associate member, and entered three paintings into their 2025 Open International Online Juried Exhibition.

In March, I learned the good news that my painting The Windy Shore, pictured above, was one of 167 artworks accepted into the show, out of 1180 pieces entered by 425 artists from around the world. The online show runs from April 1 to June 15 this year. View the award winners and other accepted works here.

Later that month, the Society announced their spring call to apply for Elected Membership Status. They outlined all the benefits such as eligibility to enter their annual shows and qualify for over $30,000 in prizes, as well as being permitted to use the prestigious “SCA” designation after one's signature on paintings.

I spent a whole day preparing my application to become an Elected Member. I chose images of ten recent paintings representing my best work (including those pictured in this post) and outlined my professional development over the last 40 years. 

That summary included my exhibitions history, gallery representation, public/corporate/VIP collectors, awards, and publications. I added a list of my contributions to the artistic community, such as teaching watercolour classes for 15 years, publishing my award-winning art instruction book Watercolour Toolbox, and coordinating art shows and studio tours for many years.

I concluded my 15-page application with this statement:

"After 40 years of study and exploration, I feel like I have arrived at the heart and soul of my artistic expression, focusing on the wild landscapes of Canada. Being able to bring peace and joy to people all over the world, especially during these troubling times, is a privilege and a blessing I will never take for granted.

"I am applying for Elected Membership because it will give me an opportunity to support and celebrate Canadian art and artists, something I have always done enthusiastically. I believe artists should encourage one another and applaud each other’s accomplishments. As our nation faces an existential threat, and we all are becoming more appreciative of our country, artists and arts organizations can help define and celebrate what it means to ‘be Canadian’.

"Several artist friends of mine are members of different arts organizations. I have considered applying before, but I wondered if I would fit in, as a self-taught artist. When I read about the Society and gathered the information for this application, I realized I have a vast amount of ‘in the trenches’ experience to share, and I hope you agree."

Apparently the Society did agree, and I was extremely pleased and honoured to receive this email notice from them today: 

"On behalf of the SCA," it read in part, "it is my pleasure to inform you that your application for Elected Membership status in the Society of Canadian Artists has been successfully accepted!! You will receive an official paper certificate by Canada Post in the upcoming days. Thank you very much for your outstanding application!" After a long list of membership features and benefits, the email concluded: "We are delighted to welcome you as an Elected Member of the Society of Canadian Artists!"

It feels amazing and surreal to be recognized by this remarkable organization that was officially founded in 1972 (although germinating since 1957), and "born to foster and celebrate the visual arts in Canada". 

The Society subsequently published these interesting details about this round of elected membership: "This spring the Call for SCA Elected Membership received entries from 59 artists and ~600 pieces of art were submitted for jurying... As with our SCA Exhibitions, the depth and breadth of the submissions were remarkable – the majority of whom were from accomplished professional artists with a prestigious array of previous awards, recognitions, and gallery shows. The jurying process was very challenging and filled with numerous agonizing decisions. In the end, a record number of 38 artists were accepted for SCA Elected Membership."

This is the second major arts organization that has recognized my artistic accomplishments.

Two years ago, I successfully achieved Signature Membership Status in Women in Watercolor, an international organization based in the USA, by winning an award in their Annual International Juried Competition three separate years within a six-year time period. (The competition had been running for four years at that point and I had won a total of nine prizes by then. I always was an over-achiever.) This designation means I can use the initials "WIW" after my signature. 

I guess I will have to write smaller when I sign my paintings, so I can fit in all those extra letters! ;-)

I am profoundly grateful to live this artist's life, being able to share with the world my soul-deep connection with nature and the art it inspires. Having someone acquire one of my paintings is the highest compliment I can imagine. Being recognized and welcomed by my artistic peers is icing on the cake.

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Spring is busting out all over here in Ontario and brought with it sunny tidings on the artistic front. I have two pieces of happy news to share with you.

My recent painting of Georgian Bay titled The Windy Shore (watercolour on 20 x 16 inch panel, private collection) has been accepted into the Society of Canadian Artists 2025 Open International Online Juried Exhibition this week!

The Society of Canadian Artists (SCA) is a national, non-profit artists’ organization founded in 1972 and dedicated to fostering and celebrating the visual arts in Canada. 

The SCA reports that 425 artists from 12 countries submitted 1,180 paintings and sculptures to this year's international competition. 

This is the first time I have applied to an SCA event and, to my amazement, The Windy Shore was one of 167 artworks accepted into the online exhibition.

I am thrilled to have this honour and send my humble appreciation to the SCA and their panel of judges. I also send hearty congratulations to all the artists whose work was accepted.

Click here to view the show which runs until June 15.

The other exciting news is about my painting Moonglow (watercolour on 20 x 16 inch panel, private collection). 

Last month, I was thrilled to hear it won a Viewer's Choice Award in the Women in Watercolor Members Only Online International Exhibition 2025. 

There were over 300 entries and the winners are shown below: 2 from Canada, 1 from Iran, and 3 from USA.

Congratulations to all the award winners, and thank you to all my fans and followers who voted! 

I am grateful to the Women in Watercolor organization, which was formed in 2020 to "help encourage, support, and promote the outstanding women that are working in this medium on an international level, through online competitions, and in-person events". 

Click here to view the online exhibition of watercolour paintings from all over the world.

After many decades spent navigating through this roller coaster artist's life of mine, I still feel as thrilled as a little kid when good things like this happen. I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to visit and paint the places I adore, and then share my paintings with people all over the world. I often think to myself "Pinch me, somebody!".

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We have lived in our Lindsay house for a decade and this winter finally made time to refinish the original floor in my art studio, office, and gallery space, which are in the basement of our home.

I designed a new layout that reversed positions of my office zone and my painting zone. Shown above is my new painting setup and I am delighted to be settled in and creating art again.

The panorama shown above is how my L-shaped art space looked a few years ago, viewed from the stairs. The brown carpet was glued directly to the concrete floor with no additional insulation, and had been in place since the house was built 25 years ago.

The gas fireplace that we added 10 years ago made my art studio very comfortable in winter, but I always thought the dark brown carpeting made the space look dark, and its busy pattern drew too much attention. It was also showing its age.

This winter, my husband and I got underway with the flooring project that took 6 weeks. He did most of the work and I assisted where possible. We ripped up the old carpet, laid a sub-floor, and finished it off with commercial grade carpet tiles.

Shown above left is the gallery space just before we began, and on the right is the same room with carpet and baseboards gone, and sub-floor being installed.

Since the sub-floor and 20-inch carpet tiles are modular, we were able to shuffle furniture around and complete the work in one area at a time. Then we moved furniture to the completed section and worked on another section. It was like a big Tetris puzzle.

Once all the new carpet was laid, we refinished and reinstalled baseboards and moved furniture to its final placement. I love the neutral colour of the carpet, as it will go with any wall colour I may choose in future. We wanted to find a Canadian-source carpet and the grey one we finally chose was made in Quebec.

Shown above is a wide angle view of the refurbished gallery space. The subtle random pattern of the flooring should stay looking nice forever, and if any carpet tile gets stained or damaged, it is easy to lift it up and replace with a spare tile. 

Shown above is the before and after view from the gallery space. In the old layout, my office desk and computer are by the window. In the new layout, my painting setup is by the window.

The photo above shows the view from the fireplace, looking towards the gallery space and stairs up to the main level. The black steel flat file on the left is one of my favourite furnishings in my studio. Those ten drawers provide an amazing 60 square feet of horizontal storage, where I have organized all my watercolour paper and other art materials, current art projects, future art projects, art card supplies and office supplies. 

Shown above is the view of my painting zone from the stairs. I appreciate the spaciousness of this area. When needed for projects, or when my artist friends come over to paint with me, I have several 2 x 4 foot folding tables that I can add to this area.

The big white cabinet has seven shelves that provide 35 square feet of horizontal storage. They hold paint palettes, painting supplies, brushes, backing supports, art panels, frames, and binders of reference photos.

To the right is a black filing cabinet holding my painting records, office files, documentation of shows and art competitions, and other important paperwork. I have two fireproof safes below my painting desk that hold backup copies of my photo archives.

Tucked into the far corner of my studio is my office desk and computer. This is where I write my blog posts and newsletters, post to social media, manage emails, edit photos and videos, and keep on track with accounting and other administrative tasks. Out of that window I can see the farm next door, complete with a vintage red barn.

I ordered extra carpet tiles so I could extend coverage into our utilities room. This space also provides efficient storage for my art business archives, shipping supplies, varnish,  Watercolour Toolbox books, and art card supplies. These tiles are laying on concrete and can be used as replacements in the studio, if needed.

I feel very fortunate to have this beautiful, bright, cozy, clean, quiet, inspiring space in which to create my art. Much of my life is spent here, and I couldn't be happier.

I hope you have enjoyed your virtual tour of this latest version of my art studio. Perhaps I will see you in person here at some point in the future. Visitors are welcome by appointment, or during an Open Studio event.

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Since I began my art career almost 40 years ago, I have been showing my artistic creations at studio tours, art festivals, open houses, fund raisers, juried shows, and art galleries.

Over that time, over 800 of my watercolour paintings have made their way, one by one, into the hearts and homes of people near and far. It warms my soul to know my creations bring peace and joy to the daily lives of so many people.

While the majority of my artworks reside with collectors in Canada and the USA, several of my paintings have become world travellers. So far, to my knowledge, my paintings are enjoyed in at least 24 countries. How cool is that!?

One of my recent travellers, A Winter Wonder (varnished watercolour on 12 x 6 inch panel), is shown here. It came about because of a rather contrary idea.

While touring the 1000 Islands region of the St. Lawrence River last summer, I chanced upon a beautiful white pine standing proudly above the forest.

I took this photo of it, thinking I would later include the iconic tree in a northern lake scene.

Back in the studio, I had another idea: I wondered what this statuesque tree would look like in a winter scene.

I drew the basic shape of the trunk, branches, and foliage masses with pencil onto watercolour paper. Then I sketched lumps of snow where snow would gather logically. I drew more snowy shapes in the smaller trees as well.

Before starting to paint the sky and distant forest, I masked out all the snow shapes on the central tree, and on the tops of the lower trees, to preserve the white of the paper in those areas. This allowed me to create a clear blue sky quickly, painting right over the snowy trees.

Once the sky dried, I removed the masking and added shadows to each white snow clump individually. Lastly, I painted the dark trunks, branches, and needles peeking out from under the snow.

I mounted the finished painting on a wood panel, varnished it, and set it in a black wood frame, shown here. (If you are interested in the details of this mounting process, see my article Framing Watercolours Without Glass.)

I posted the finished piece on Facebook in early December and caught the eye of a long time friend and former co-worker, who now lives and works in Cairo, Egypt. She sent me a message to acquire the painting and later picked it up at my studio while she was in Ontario visiting family for Christmas.

It makes me smile to think of this little snow scene residing in the Middle Eastern desert, bringing happy winter memories to a Canadian living abroad.

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This year, the Kawartha Art Gallery in Lindsay, ON invited me and other member artists to participate in a new initiative, Palette Partners, a community art and local business partnership.

Palette Partners is part of the Gallery's ongoing efforts to support the City of Kawartha Lakes cultural economy by creating opportunities for local artists to promote their work to a wider audience, while forming connections within the larger community.

Artwork accepted into the Palette Partners project is displayed in public spaces at participating businesses for several months, with a QR code providing viewers with the option to purchase the artwork online through the Gallery's website.

Three of my paintings were selected to display at Milk & Honey Eatery, a newly-opened restaurant at 18 Kent St. W. in downtown Lindsay.

I am pictured above in front of the building and my paintings are shown inside the restaurant beside owner Olivia Moore, whose passion for baking and cooking rivals my passion for painting.

I enjoyed a delicious lunch at Milk & Honey last week, along with 30 members of the Women's Probus Club of Lindsay, and the service and food were both excellent. I highly recommend this spot for brunch, lunch, or just a hot beverage.

They offer quality home made meals and fresh baked goods, and are open  from 10 am to 3 pm Monday through Saturday. Check out their website here.

I am very pleased to support the cultural and business communities this way and applaud all the local businesses and artists who have joined Palette Partners.

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