Wild at Heart

Karen Wilson

Karen was born in Dublin in 1960 and educated in Mount Temple. Married with two children. She counts herself lucky to live and work in the beautiful seaside town of Skerries, Co. Dublin.

Mainly self-taught, she has a painted all her life, the catalyst being the gift of oil paints from her sister at an early age. In fact, she has an oil painting that she painted when she was twelve years old.

Following a painting workshop in Holland, plein air influenced her work, with inspiration around every corner of Skerries and beyond.  The daily painting movement inspires her small still life paintings in oil of local scenery and kitchen still lives. Working mostly with a palette knife, her paintings are characterised by vigorous thick buttery splashes of colour, with highlights of heavy impasto paint.

She paints every day, either a small still life painted in her Studio/Gallery, situated in the magnificent courtyard of the 15th century restored watermill, or, weather permitting, a plein air study of either of the two magnificent beaches or harbour, right on her doorstep in Skerries.

Karen loves to pass on her knowledge and has been teaching art classes and one day workshops for over 20 years, and her new online courses are now available for any budding artist unable to attend her courses.

As well as her personal work she has taken on various commissions including a large body of work for the Hotel Isaacs, in Dublin and Cork. Karen’s paintings can also be seen in the Lyrath Hotel, Kilkenny, Sheraton Hotel in Athlone and Lismore House Hotel in Lismore, Co. Waterford. Private collectors include,Intel in Lexlip, Actor Brendan Gleeson, Designer Laney Keogh, Actor Aongus Og McAnally, Irish rugby Captain Niall Hogan & TV and radio presenter Matt Cooper.