Karin Brear
My favourite mediums to use are pastel, acrylic, watercolour, pencil, oil, inks and mixed media.
I enjoy painting most genres but perhaps my favourites are seascapes, water, birds, local scenes, abstracts, florals and mixed media. I love lots of texture and colour. My inspiration comes from nature itself.
No two of my artworks are the same. I also enjoy photography so I have many references to keep me going for years to come.
My Story
I moved into the lovely Clarence area 7 years ago from the south of Brisbane and haven’t looked back. I am married with three grown up children and have three gorgeous grandchildren. I work part time as a teacher assistant.
I have always been creative. As a teenager and when my children were small, I dabbled in many crafts – cross stitch, pottery, fimo jewellery, paper tole, flower decorating, silk screening and sewing.
My art journey began in 1994, having had my first art lesson learning Decorative Folk Art. I found my love for art and in the year 2000 I progressed into Fine Art. I had a home studio in Brisbane with a number of students to keep me on my toes. I have won many awards for my work in the Folk Art Section in local shows.
I attended a pastel class and fell in love with this medium, having mainly previously painted with acrylics and on wood!! I have attended many workshops and conventions with different artists over the years. These experiences have exploded my creative juices.
I received two Highly Commended awards with the Pastel Society in Brisbane. I won a First Prize in the pastel section at the Lions Art Extravaganza Exhibition in Brisbane in 2015. A sunrise seascape. This was my first major award which was quite a surprise and my artwork sold! I received Highly Commended for my pastel work at the Phyllis Austin awards at Ferry Park Gallery Maclean and won a Fay Boyd scholarship.
I have previously exhibited my work at the Old Schoolhouse Gallery in Cleveland, Brisbane and have had successful exhibitions also at Iluka Emporium, Yamba museum, Grafton Library and Ferry Park.
Living here in the Clarence Valley, the inspiration never stops…….it’s deciding what to paint next!! And wishing there was more hours in a day!!
