"Sea Storm" Painting

My (Karen Cochlovius) paintings are about creating sanctuaries for both me the painter and you the viewer. You are urged to step into the painting for further discovery; what lies beyond that alley, whose shadow is behind you, what drifts beyond the water?

My paintings are vibrant, colourful with an undercurrent of adventure. Nature and travel - where the discoveries of the unexpected are found - inspire me. As a story teller by heart (I have published one novel, and in the process of approaching publishers with the second), I know that even in places where wind bends trees, rivers wash blood and mist engulfs, there is a feeling of resilience and ultimate safety in my land and cityscapes.

I usually distort perspective and carefully consider composition to pull the onlooker into the story and my titles often come to me before the painting, and I consider them as carefully as the painting. You may notice there are few or no people in most of my paintings, leaving the onlooker to experience the sanctuary in privacy.

I draw inspiration from a variety of styles of painting from Egon Schiele, Peter Doig, the use of colour from Jaquim Mir, the movement of the sculptures of Salvadore Dali, the emotion of Van Gogh's trees.

I have a background in science (I worked and travelled in Africa as an exploration geologist for 20 years as well), although I have always painted and wrote. I am more inclined to spend my time with the arts now, feeding the science into my creativity.