Finding the Positive in the Negative

“Tree Peonies” by Karen Shanahan.

The UU Gallery will feature watercolor paintings by Karen Shanahan in July. The public is invited to an opening reception on July 5 from 4 – 6 pm.

Shanahan has been painting seriously since 2003 when she took workshops at the Peninsula School of Art. Her mentor, Bridget Austin, is a nationally acclaimed artist and teacher of transparent watercolor. Shanahan has traveled to Bridget’s workshops both locally and in foreign settings.

Shanahan’s goal is to emphasize light in her watercolors. Light touches the simplest of objects, illuminating and turning them into magnificence. Her style of painting is often referred to as negative painting.

“With a value sketch I have an idea of the composition and where I expect to be finding my objects. With subsequent washes and working from light to dark, I paint around the objects, finding details and letting the negative space tell some of the story. I paint some detail on these found objects bringing them to life as a subject,” says Shanahan of her process.

Shanahan is affiliated with the Door County Art League and the Southern Arizona Watercolor Guild. She lives alternately in Tucson, Ariz. and Ephraim and has exhibited and won awards in both states.

UU Gallery hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1 – 3 pm and Sunday from 11 am – 12:30 pm. The UU Gallery is located at 10341 Highway 42, just south of the Shops at Green Gables, Ephraim. For more information visit uufdc.com.