Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Karen Jones. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Karen, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I had an mis-belief when I was younger that my art was at a high enough skill level to make a good living as an artist. I was always a good painter and I thought that if I made a painting that someone would always just buy it. Simple. I thought all I needed to do was to find my buyers, easy.
I now know that skill and determination isn’t enough. In hind sight, I wasn’t skilled enough. A good painting needs to stop people in their tracks. It needs all of the foundations of art and it needs the understanding of which art camp you are in. If I was in the commercial artist camp and wanted to regularly and consistently sell art, I needed to make art that was buyable.

Karen, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Karen is a figurative oil painter, her art is a counter balance to fear and an anchor for self worth. It is a reminder of the love and support we all have from the universe. It is god/the universe/your inner knowing, being there for you.
She survives knowing that art gives you the resilience and strength to keep going until your dreams do come true.
She eternally believes that dreams do come true and her work lives that.
Karen started her art career when she was 5 but has been a professional, ‘non-starving artist’ for 15 years.
She lives full time, paints and travels in her 1968 Airstream trailer, making art and soaking up inspiration from the world around her. She is currently in the huge magnetic art area of Southern California.
Her mission is to create vibrant, imaginative oil paintings that uplift the spirit and celebrate individuality. Through colorful surreal narratives and semi realistic faces, she aims to inspire self-empowerment and a deep connection to one’s personal journey, leaving a lasting legacy as a cheerleader for life’s unique adventures.
To hopes to show that the human experience is more than just a shallow superficial experience, and that being alive is a gift that is truly amazing.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

The resource I wish I knew earlier in my life was my own inner knowing and uniqueness.
The saying, ‘You don’t know that you don’t know’ comes to mind. I had the humbling aha moment of how much I needed to learn about what I actually like. Recently, I discovered that I love abstract expression and am currently going down that rabbit hole. I needed to experience a LOT of quiet time to realize all of this and to be able to hear and trust my own inner guidance. This inner knowing comes from my sub-conscience, not my fast spinning logical mind. Art wasn’t what I thought, it wasn’t that ‘good idea, or my why statement’ or my best how to help the world idea. What it is, is an expression that comes from my connection to myself which is actually my connection to the universe. I am thrilled to be living during this time of ‘everything you want to learn’ is on the internet. I think learning is the food that feeds this continual discovery of what I find interesting and what I want to look at and create. Making art is so much more fun and fulfilling since I’ve discovered what I really loved in art, in me and in the universe. I wake up every day excited to make art and discover something new.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

About 3 years ago I got divorced and started my next chapter, like a lot of people did during the Covid times.
I got in my Airstream RV trailer and headed out of the Midwest to grow, learn and escape my comfort zone. It was unexpected, so I didn’t have a plan or a destination, all I knew was that I had a chance to figure out everything that wasn’t working in my life.
I created a plan that would best support my inner growth, personally and in my art. Art, yoga, meditation and my Airstream were my support system. When I wanted to quit and give up I leaned harder on all of these things. I was steady, extremely focused and very consistent. In a way I didn’t have a choice other than to keep going so I gave it my all. We often don’t realize how our comfort zones are killing us and keeping us from our dreams coming true. It has been really hard at times but like exercising every day, those hard times are needed to make us stronger. I am now stronger and healthier than I have ever been and making art that I finally like.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.KarenAnnJones.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karen_jones_art
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarenJonesArt
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenannjones

Image Credits

I’m solo living so I took them all. 😁