Karen Lynn Ingalls — her beginnings and evolution as an artist
Karen Lynn Ingalls began drawing as soon as she could clutch a crayon, and drew constantly and precociously (never stick figures, according to her mother).
Karen painting at the easel her father made for her, while he and her brother practice hammer skills.
Originally, she'd always been a drawer and painter of people....
"Man with a Beard" and "Renee," drawn during weekly costumed model drawing and painting sessions in Carmel, with inspiring Monterey Peninsula fellow artists.
Then, in 1998, artist friend Bill Fenwick gathered a group of fellow artists to paint in protest of a proposed development. Ultimately, as they worked together with local environmental supporters, the project helped save a threatened, significant wetlands area in Monterey County, where she then lived.
“A slough of scenes,” article by Dave Nordstrand. Salinas Californian, September 2, 2000, pp. 1E–2E.
That was when she began painting endangered landscapes – places threatened by development. Unfortunately, many beautiful natural places in California were threatened by development. She expanded to painting the beauty she saw wherever she looked.
As her landscape painting developed, particular color combinations called to her. A friend, reacting to the strong oranges and blues in her colors, said, "Poppies and lupine!" — and Karen realized that the California poppies and blue lupine flowers that grew in the meadow next to her family's home when she was young must have made a deep impression.
As her landscape painting developed, particular color combinations called to her. A friend, reacting to the strong oranges and blues in her colors, said, "Poppies and lupine!" — and Karen realized that the California poppies and blue lupine flowers that grew in the meadow next to her family's home when she was young must have made a deep impression.
Karen Lynn Ingalls, with some of her paintings, at Jessel Gallery in Napa.
Enchanted by the land, its colors, and its spirit, she continues painting colorist landscapes of rural California. Her dedication to preserving land that we too often take for granted, by calling attention to its beauty, is a driving force behind her artwork.
Since then...
Today, Karen is known for her vibrant colorist landscape paintings that capture the essence of rural California. Currently living in Calistoga, nestled in the upper end of Napa Valley, her work is inspired by the natural beauty that surrounds her.
Karen Lynn Ingalls with "Sunset Meadow," in her Franz Valley barn studio • photo © Karen Lynn Ingalls
Karen's artwork, and articles about it, have appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle, The North Bay Bohemian, the Calistoga Tribune, The Weekly Calistogan, the Napa Valley Register, the St. Helena Star, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, the North Bay Bohemian, the Salinas Californian, the Monterey Herald, and the Monterey County Coast Weekly, among others.
Articles in the San Francisco Chronicle and the Weekly Calistogan, and the video Karen made of "Making Beauty from Ashes."
After losing her Franz Valley barn studio in the 2017 Northern California wildfires, she now works at Backstreet Gallery and Studios, just over the hills from her Calistoga home, in Santa Rosa's SOFA Arts District.
Karen Lynn Ingalls, in her studio at Backstreet Gallery and Studios, in Santa Rosa's SOFA Arts District. Photo by Cornelius Collins.
Karen's artwork has spanned a wide range of mediums, including paintings, drawings, collages, life–sized painted sculptures, and public art installations. Her work has been exhibited, and can be found in collections, on both west and east coasts of the United States, and a few places in between, too.
Painted Sculptures by Karen Lynn Ingalls: From Left to Right, "You Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog," "Woodstock's Summer of Love," "Downtown Charlie Brown," and "Let Love Bloom."
Karen also draws, paints abstract and mixed media acrylic paintings, and creates block prints, using methods that she enjoys sharing with others in her classes and workshops.
A dedicated and experienced teacher, Karen has taught art classes and workshops in a variety of subjects to both adults and children for over twenty years. She is credentialed in both Art and English, and previously taught high school English.
A dedicated and experienced teacher, Karen has taught art classes and workshops in a variety of subjects to both adults and children for over twenty years. She is credentialed in both Art and English, and previously taught high school English.
Karen teaching workshops at the Calistoga Art Center and giving a mixed media demonstration at the Napa County Fair in Calistoga, in previous years.
She also has taught art for Napa Valley College Community Education and the Calistoga Art Center, as well as private, group, and corporate workshops, and currently teaches her art classes and workshops for adults and mature teens online. Her teaching style emphasizes creativity, individual expression, and exploration, inspiring her students to discover and develop their own artistic voices.
Karen Lynn Ingalls with detail of "Knights Valley Autumn" • photo © Nathan Ingalls
