Karolyn Hawthorne

309 Bethany Drive
South Hill, VA  23970
(434) 447-4123
 

Email:  khawthorne@earthlink.net

Website:  www.ArtByKarolyn.com

                                    www.vegaspaint.com

Born and raised in Miami, Florida, in the “pre air conditioning and TV era”, I developed a love for natural beauty early in my life.  I learned to appreciate a beautiful sunset; the sparkle of light on water; the ocean, in its many moods; the vibrant colors, textures, and structures of flowers and wildlife.  Though the natural world, I developed a strong bond with God and his glory.

I attended college at Virginia Tech, majoring in Biology and minoring in Geology.  I spent my undergraduate summers working at the University of Miami’s Rosensteil Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Sciences as an analytical chemist in Oceanographic Geochemistry.  After graduation, I taught high school science and math for two years.  Although, I loved teaching, I gave it up for a position as a retail executive with Peebles Department Stores.  After 24 years, I retired to pursue my passion for art.

Artist Brief:     

I have always been fascinated with art and watching an artist demonstrate.  I told myself that, when I had time, I would try my hand at painting.  In 1996, my father died rather suddenly of heart failure.  He had always been a true love and inspiration to me. After his death, my mother was going through some of his things and asked me if I would like to have his brushes and paints.  What a shock!  I never knew that he painted.  She told me that he didn’t, he always wanted to learn, but never got around to it.   I immediately thought about how much I would love to have a painting that he had created. This proved to be the “wake up call” that I needed.  Within three weeks I found and enrolled in an oil painting class at Southside Virginia Community College.  I was hooked the moment that I picked up a brush.  I plunged into art with an appetite to learn as much as possible from the finest artists that I could find.  I have traveled extensively and taken workshops with many nationally known artists including, Tom Lynch, Brenda Harris, Morgan Samuel Price, Dominic Vignola, Valerie Stewart, and Tom Edgerton. 

In the past several years, I have garnered fourteen major awards, including 2 “Best in Show”, 2 “First”, several “Second” places, and the “Chamber’s Choice” award while competing in the professional category locally and nationally.  I am currently represented by Crossroads Art Center, Richmond, VA; The Purple Parrot, Culpepper, VA; and the Blackstone Art and Antique Mall in Blackstone, VA.  I currently teach oil painting at the Southside Virginia Community College Advanced Learning Center in South Hill and give private instruction.   

My art is an avenue to bring many of my passions - my love of nature and animals, my faith, my love of teaching – together with and my marketing and business skills.

Artist’s Vision:

Light, elusive, transient, and fleeting, is the source of all life and inspiration.  It is the beginning and the end of every day and every human experience.  Not surprisingly, it is a commonly used metaphor to describe God’s grace.  Learning to see and understand the way light plays in this world is a lifelong pursuit.  Adequately capturing light in any of its many personalities is my lifelong mission.  If I can open a viewer’s eyes to light’s beauty, perhaps I can open his mind to life’s possibilities.

Professional Services Offered Mediums I teach: Oils Watercolor Acrylic Levels that I teach: Beginner and intermediate in each medium Also Offering Offer signed limited edition prints, as well as, original artwork. I do commissions for Architectural and pet portraiture. I do trade demonstrations and technical painting seminars		"Rusty"
"Gardenia"	“Peppers and Pears”	"Walk in the Drill Field"