Karen Vleck
created to Stir Something in You
I started my artistic journey in costume design. I rendered designs for the several dozen theatrical productions put on at Virginia Commonwealth University. My dreams of going to New York never came to fruition but I continued to draw and paint throughout. I enrolled in the Maryland Institute of Art and studied watercolors. I spent weekends doing art shows and building a small following but my art was just a hobby. Everything changed when a coworker gave me some colored pencils and a coloring book for Christmas. I have to admit that I gave the coloring book away. The more important part of my story is that I did not give up on colored pencils. I started taking every class I could and gradually obtained the skills to start getting commission work. Now, nine years later, I have won first place in numerous art competitions and had my work displayed in several prominent international colored pencil magazines.
“I see collectors as part of the creative process. I might put the pencil point on the paper, but the art has little meaning until the collector hangs it in their own space where hopefully, it speaks to the owners inner voice."
—Karen Vleck
Creating Something Special For Your Favorite Space
“I try to capture the small detains- the nuances of a piece that maybe a collector did not see at first glance. I want you to see it with a "different set of eyes" each time you look at it. That’s the enchantment I want you to experience: art that continues to surprise you over time.”
“I would like to think of myself as a naturalist who brings the outside world inside—so you can experience it without ever leaving your home.”
“What I love the most is seeing the joy when a commissioned piece is seen for the first time..It's as if they weren't expecting to see their dreams come to fruition, and yet there it is for them to enjoy for as long as possible.”
my why
“People ask what motivates me in creating each piece I paint. Oddly enough, I started painting pet portraits after the personal loss of my beloved English Bulldogs. My heart was so broken and empty that I decided to paint a portrait of them so I could feel them with me in spite of their absence. Now, I get pet portrait request from people I have never met but with whom I can connect due to our shared loss.
Art should inspire and evoke emotion. It should be something that you can connect with as you view it.
“I don’t create for a faceless audience. I create for those who love nature and have a strong desire to surround themselves in it. I want to impart the feeling of bringing the outside inside”
““Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” — Edgar Degas
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As featured in…
COLLECTOR REVIEWS
“Karen created a drawing of one of my Frenchies. her work is beyond amazing, and the attention to detail and personal touch is not anything you can find anywhere else"
-SHELLIE VENTO, Dog Breeded, Collector
