Interview
Karen Kanas
Karen was raised in Chicago, Illinois and involved in the arts from a very young age. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre from the Performing Arts Center, Barat College of DePaul University. Karen was fortunate enough to work with such theatre companies as Steppenwolf Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Chicago Theatre and Phoenix Theatre to name a few. She studied painting and art history throughout her years in school, in addition to studying architecture and interior design when she moved to Los Angeles, California at UCLA. Karen has been an artist for over ten years. Her background in theatre has influenced her immensely as an artist. Many pieces of her artwork have been on exhibit in Los Angeles, New York City, San Jose and Huntington Beach.
Karen was featured in DESTIG Magazine as one their top emerging artists for 2019, the Los Angeles Art Association 2019 Volume 2 Catalog, and Al-Tiba9 Contemporary Art’s 2022 Collectors’ Art Book, Volume 1. She is a Founder Member of ArtChilli Gallery UK, and a member of the Los Angeles Art Association. Karen's artwork was featured in the September, October, and November 2021 issue of House & Garden Magazine UK, she was the recipient of the 2020 Artist of the Future Award by Contemporary Art Curator Magazine and the 2021 recipient of the Award of Artistic Excellence for her Painting, Dancer in Motion, by Circle Foundation for the Arts. She also wrote and produced her video performance art piece, The Unseen Artist which is a self-exploration of herself as an artist. Karen is the director of the online series, Shakespeare's Pawn. Part One of Shakespeare's Pawn won the award for Best Production Design Short by the Marina del Rey Film Festival in June 2022 and won Best Short for Shakespeare's Pawn: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by the Hollywood Blvd Film Festival in July 2022, among other recent awards. Karen resides in Los Angeles with her husband actor Ammar Daraiseh.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I was raised in Chicago, Illinois and involved in the arts from a very young age. I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre from the Performing Arts Center, Barat College of DePaul University and was fortunate enough to work with such theatre companies as Steppenwolf Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Chicago Theatre and Phoenix Theatre to name a few. I studied painting and art history throughout my years in school, in addition to studying architecture and interior design at UCLA in Los Angeles, California. My background in theatre has influenced me immensely as an artist, as I feel they go hand in hand. I have always been a creative and an artist. I started to take myself a bit more seriously as an artist in 2017 when a gallery in San Jose, California requested a piece of my artwork for their exhibit. That's when I knew I was onto something as an artist and on the right track. I have been fortunate enough to have my artwork on exhibit in New York City, throughout Los Angeles, and Southern California.”
What inspires you?
“I am inspired mostly by nature, when I walk out the door. I live on a hillside and am fascinated by how the sun light hits the trees, the way the sky constantly transforms throughout the day. This is why I have such a love for painting landscapes. I love a good landscape and love painting them. I am also inspired by music. Music was a huge part of my life growing up as my mother was an accomplished pianist and I also played the piano. I am a huge fan of Jazz, and Miles Davis. His soundtrack for the French film "Ascenseur pour l'échafaud" ("Elevator to the Gallows") is so ominous, dark, restless, and lonely like the characters portrayed in the film which revolves around a murder. I think it is one of the best soundtracks as it works together harmoniously with film creating a beautiful piece of artwork.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“My artwork tends to be all over the place if you will. I can go from painting landscapes which I love, to portraits, figures or something abstract. I'm a traditionalist when it comes to my love for painting landscapes. Many of my landscape pieces have a specific theme in color, tone, technique and brush strokes. You know it's my work when they are on exhibit together. The same can be said for my portraits and figures. I tend to use a similar color palette and technique to make them a bit more unique and a bit more abstract in appearance. I paint from memory a lot, it is typically a moment in time that I recall, and want to translate that onto the canvas. I never paint from photographs as that is boring to me. Whatever I paint there is always an emotional connection that is conveyed in my work. The message or story I'm telling can be different for the viewer which is fine. My work is intended to bring emotion, or a memory the viewer recalls from their own life and how they relate to the piece.”
“I am inspired mostly by nature, when I walk out the door. I live on a hillside and am fascinated by how the sun light hits the trees, the way the sky constantly transforms throughout the day.”
How would you describe your work?
“I would describe my work as bold in color, brush stroke, and tone. This is evident in my landscape pieces. I like to use a lot texture and layers in my artwork to create depth in the piece. I'm most expressive with my landscapes as it's more freeing for me to paint these. There's so much that goes on in a landscape and in nature. My landscape paintings are my interpretation of that. I also like to have a dominant color in each piece that drawers the viewer in on a journey. My latest landscape piece "Energy" is a bit more avant-garde and more abstract than what I would traditional do. It's probably my most expressive piece which is why I titled the piece "Energy." There's a lot going on. Some may say it's not a traditional landscape if you will, but it's not intended to be. A leaf doesn't always have to look exactly like a leaf in painting, not everything is intended to be exactly the way it is. That's why I enjoy painting so much. You can do anything you want on the canvas, but enjoy doing it. I think the joy I have for painting and my emotion for the love of it comes through in all my artwork.”
Which artists influence you most?
“I'm a huge fan of artist Cindy Sherman and how she is able to transform herself. Emma Amos – I love the vibrant use of color in her artwork and how she explored gender and race in her pieces. Agnes Martin, Joan Mitchell and Lee Krasner – are amazing and deserve more credit than what they ever received during their time. I’m curious as to what their experience was back in their day, since so much of the art world was and still is heavily male focused and male dominated. I relate to Marc Chagall a lot. Not only was he an artist, but he was a costume designer. I was also a costume design back in the day and I studied costume design and art history in college as I felt they went hand in hand. The performing arts were such a significant source of inspiration throughout Marc Chagall's artistic career which is why I relate to him. Theatre has been such an important part of my life, and my artistic career.”
What is your creative process like?
“Most of my artwork is created based on my memories or from a moment in time that I recall and I want to express on canvas. I am extremely visual and remember the details vividly from my life. I draw upon that when I am creating my work. Although some pieces are created purely organically from ideas that I think would make for an interesting painting. Once I decide on what I am painting, I start thinking about my color palette. I love using vibrant colors, and a lot of the time, I can envision how the painting will look before I ever start on it. I always have one color that dominates and takes precedence throughout the piece. I do this intentionally to draw the eye of the viewer. I work mainly with acrylics, and often I like to water the colors down to create a glossier effect. If I am looking to add texture or layers to a piece, I will scrape gesso onto the canvas before I start painting, so that it has time to set. My process involves engaging both traditional and innovative techniques, while incorporating elements of impressionism with abstraction. When I paint, I do not work off images or sketches, nor do I sketch anything onto the canvas. I may see an image that inspires me, but that is it. I will reference art books as I think it is good to go back and study techniques. Some pieces take me months to complete, some only a few weeks, depending on the subject matter. I think the most challenging part is knowing when to stop, to know when a painting is finished. It took me years to learn this. Painting brings me great joy. I always learn something about myself from each piece that I paint. I never rush the process for the sake of creating art. Each piece takes time and deserves the utmost attention.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“I feel the purpose of art in society is to educate, convey a message or story, make people think, and open each other’s eyes to the world around us through different mediums. There are many ways of doing this and each artist has a different story they want to tell. I think that is what makes art so dynamic. The wide range of work, points of view, and ways about which art is communicated and displayed. There are artists I follow on Instagram that are so talented and whom I admire. I not only learn about each of them as artists, but I learn about where they come from, what message they are conveying whether it is political, religious, personal, etc. Every artist’s story is different and unique.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“My first exhibit in New York City was a a huge milestone for me . It was in 2018 at Agora Gallery, in Chelsea, New York - Collective Art Exhibition: I Remember You, I know This Place. This was my first big art exhibit and opened many doors for me, which I am grateful for. I am currently represented by the award-winning gallery, Artlounge Collective in Los Angeles, and have a group exhibit opening in a few weeks called "Call of the Wild". Looking forward to that and my continued collaboration with Artlounge Collective throughout this year.”
