Karen and Jack Winslow have been married for 36 years, and they have been painting side by side for most of the married life. From 1972-1978, they studied apprenticeship-style at the Art Students League of New York with Frank Mason, Robert Brackman and Robert Beverley Hale. While their main focus was on portraits and figure painting in oils, they also studied outdoor landscape painting, still life and etching. In 1979, Karen and Jack moved to Vermont and opened the WINSLOW ART STUDIO.Since that time, Karen has been selling her paintings (close to 800 sold) through various galleries and raising 5 children. In February 1991, American Artist magazine wrote a major feature about the Winslows (cover, pages 24-31 and 80-83); and in 1992, Karen was invited by the Museum of Fine Art in Gifu, Japan to do portrait drawing demonstrations to celebrate the museum’s anniversary. Collections include: Fleming Museum, Woodstock Inn, Howard Bank, Merchants Bank, International Silver Company, Mercy Hospital, Basin Harbor Club, Wakefield Group and Johnson State College. All of Karen and Jack's painting are from life (not photographs), and they are equally at home with plein air landscapes, still life, portraits, florals, interiors and allegories. Karen is among the few artists today reviving and upholding traditional craftsmanship, which means she grinds her own paints and makes her own mediums and varnishes.Her paintings reflect the beauty and dignity of creation, and they are purposely designed to suggest an illusion of light, depth and movement which sees beyond the facts (or surface reality) to compose a visual poem. Her lively brushwork reveals her knowledge and years of experience - depicting planes, defining form, revealing underlying structure and orchestrating order from chaos with both power and efficiency. She is a master of her craft, rooted in the traditions of Frans Hals, Rembrandt, Rubens, Velasquez, Sargent and Tarbel. I am a realist. But, I want my work to be neither primitive nor photographic. Like the great painters before me, I use the principles of light and shade, form and structure, atmospheric perspective, and movement…not to copy, but to compose directly from nature, allowing the brushwork to respond spontaneously. I want my paintings to be soft, graceful and interpretive; fluid, not rigid or hard-edged - neither over-worked nor under-worked. My work should express a unified thought, a harmonious statement that is positive and uplifting; work that searches and probes for truth; and work that strives to maintain the delicate balance between logic, emotion, draftsmanship and craftsmanship. To this end, I am an artist. K. Winslow American Artist magazine honored them with a cover feature in February 1991. All of their paintings are from life (not photographs), and they are equally at home with plein air landscapes, still life, floral, portraits and figures. Although they paint many diverse subjects, the real subject is light, form, space and movement that looks beyond the facts to uncover the hidden beauty and reveal the visual poetry. In addition, Karen teaches a variety of workshops throughout New England.

Peoines by Karen Oil
Peaches by Karen Oil
Smuggler's Notch by Jack Oil