We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Karim Aboud. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Karim below.

Hi Karim , thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I truly believe that with my medium of choice which is epoxy resin, you will never stop learning. I have been working with this medium now for over 7 years and I still learn something new every day! I initially used resin as a varnish to complete my paintings until I discovered that you could add color to it, mold it, pour it into molds etc. I started experimenting right away and at the time resin was not as popular as it is today so there were no tutorials or YouTube videos that I could watch to learn. I learned it all by trial and error. I’m sure there were things I could have done to speed up my learning initially but I’m glad I went through the lengthy experiment process ( which is still ongoing). Resin can be unpredictable at times and I believe that half of working well with resin is knowing how to catch and fix mistakes. All the hours of testing different colors in, cure times and techniques have armed me with solutions to almost any hiccups that can ( and most of time will ) happen with resin. I will say that quality materials do make a world of difference and I wish I knew that early on. It would have saved me hours of trying to get certain results I was hoping to achieve. Skip the cheap stuff!! I think the most essential skill of working with resin is patience. It’s takes a lot of practice and testing to learn to manipulate it and get the results you want.

Karim , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Artist Karim is a self-taught artist out of Palm​ Beach,FL who pushes the boundaries of resin on canvas creating aerial seascape paintings that transport you to paradise.

​Her current collection focuses on aerial seascape paintings featuring textured sand and realistic oceans made with epoxy resin. Her life like waves pull you in and upon a closer look you are delighted by her charming ‘tiny’ details such as mini beach umbrellas, surfers, boats & beachcombers.
Look again and you’ll discover how she cleverly combines soothing oceans and playful femininity.

Second to her love of creating is teaching. She teaches one-on-one resin and alcohol ink courses and workshops in person or online. Her on line courses are available on her website or Skillshare.com

Artist Statement:

” … when I am alone and creating, I am transported to another place. My hands run through the liquid resin & all time stops, problems disappear and I find peace. Art saved my life and in a sense I heal with every piece I make. This is what I want for my collectors. I’d love each of them to find PEACE in my work. I’d love for them to take home a little piece of calm, tranquility and serenity.”

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is being able to succeed and then reach my hand back to pull others up. The feeling of showing another creative that they can learn, create and make a real living off of their art is unmatched. For example I have 2 students that I started mentoring a little over a year ago. They had zero experience with Resin and truly believed they did not have an artistic bone in their body. I helped them let loose, learn how to work with resin and now they are running a successful art business together!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I recently had to make a change and pivot the direction of my art career after a bout of creative block. When I first started creating with resin over 7 years ago – almost no one was doing it! I could count on one hand the amount of artists online working with resin in a similar fashion and so the competition was non existent and I did very well. As years passed resin blew up on social media and before you knew it, everyone was blowing ocean waves on cutting boards and making river tables. It became extremely saturated and I fell out of love with the process of creating the same items over and over. One day I had about 7 cutting boards on my studio table that I had to put my signature resin waves on and I remember thinking “What is this a conveyor belt?” It just wasn’t fulfilling me creatively anymore and my sales started to suffer. That night I new I had to change it up and get back to what inspired me – back to the basics. The next day I put my store items on sale and decided I would only focus on creating beautiful and unique resin paintings that tell a story or inspire. I went back to experimenting with resin and tested different techniques in an effort to manipulate it in new ways on canvas. There were some tears, moments of giving it all up, wasted product etc but it was all worth it in the end. I finally found my artist voice again and I am on a new journey creating beautiful aerial seascapes on canvas. This process was scary but it has opened and catapulted my art career in new and exciting direction.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ariamarlicollections.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/aria.marli
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karimaboud/