Karrie Evenson, Rogers, AR
Karrie Evenson is an artist from Northwest Arkansas, originally from St. Louis Missouri. She began her journey through art as a child, realizing she had a passion for creating. Her lessons continued through high school and some college. She soon married, decided to begin a family, and her art was put on hold for a while. While enjoying being a mother and raising her children, Karrie felt as though something was missing, "I felt lost. There was a part of me that had been tucked away for so long; I had forgotten who I was. The artist in me was ready to come out!" she says. It was then after so many years she began to paint again and all the pieces finally came together for her.
Soon after, Karrie found out her youngest daughter who is two, was diagnosed with a common neurological disease called Neurofibromatosis. This disease causes tumors to grow anywhere inside or outside the body along the nerve endings and there is no cure. “When I am troubled with the not knowing of what will happen to her and our family, I find peace and feel centered from painting”, she says. Karrie works with the Children's Tumor Foundation to help fight for a cure.
Karrie has continued working on her paintings and educating herself on art as much as possible while attending classes and workshops often. She has been a featured guest artist and fill-in host on the television show "Make Your Mark, painting with Gail Stoops" in 2007 and 2008. She has been invited back to be a fill-in host monthly and will be permanently taking over as a full time host by the end of 2008. Her new television show will be premiering in January of 2009 titled “On Canvas...abstract painting with Karrie Evenson”. The show will feature painting “how to's”, local guest artists and performance painting. It will air on Jones Television channel 22. Karrie was also featured in the Roger Morning Newspaper, Arkansas Times, and was chose as December's “Artist Pick of the Month” for the Eureka Springs Artists Newsletter.
Her work is on display at Art Emporium in Fayetteville and Eureka Springs Fine Art in Eureka Springs. Karrie also teaches group lessons held weekly at her in home studio focusing on loose intuitive style painting.
Karrie has been working on a new ongoing series titled, “Rising Free” she began in early 2008. This series is done in mixed media featuring many abstracted figures and birds. “I feel that as a human being I am always searching for that freedom, to just be me and nothing more. When I see birds take flight and glide through the air, they have a peaceful way about them, beauty and simplicity, there so much freedom in that!
She enjoys painting in all mediums but favors acrylic. Her vibrant colors and passion for life really come through in every stroke. Painting for her is not a thinking process but a feeling process. She believes, that for her, this is the only way to paint.
www.karrieevensonart.com