Untitled 0013 Painting

Originally from Montreal, Canada, Karen Roehl moved to Denver as a youngster, in 1967. She has enjoyed living in the growing and vibrant Mile-High City, where she raised her two daughters, Vesla and Andria. Roehl began her artistic career when she completed a design program at the Art Institute of Colorado in 1987. She enjoyed a successful career as a graphic artist for over 30 years, the last eight of which were spent running her own design business. Satisfying a life-long desire to expand her creative talents into the fine arts, she entered the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program at University of Colorado at Denver in 2004. She was the recipient of the Colorado Scholar's scholarship award in 2007, UCD's Fellowship award in 2006 and 2007, and completed her BFA degree in December 2007, graduating magna cum laude. Besides maintaining a studio where she paints full time, Roehl is involved in a number of activities in Denver's art community. She is a founding member of the co-op which runs the popular Ice Cube Gallery in the RiNo Arts District. In 2011, she joined the faculty at Art Student's League of Denver where she teaches classes in basic and abstract painting and participates in talks and demonstrations throughout the Denver area. Exhibitions of her work include a solo show at Jung Gallery, Denver in 2008. She was also a select artist featured in the award-winning design showroom, TOWN, at the Denver Design Center; has been invited to, and participated in, a number of group and juried exhibits in the Denver area; held solo and dual shows at Ice Cube Gallery, Denver, in 2010 and 2011 respectively; and had a large body of work shown at Art Expo Las Vegas in 2007, and then again in 2011 at both Art Expo Las Vegas and NY. In 2014 she was an invitee to Evergreen Fine Art's annual event, Weekend in the West, featuring 56 acclaimed artists, and was awarded the People's Choice Award for her two submitted horse paintings against raw, abstract grounds. Her unique horse paintings have also earned her acceptance into the prestigious Coors Western Art Exhibit 2015 that happens in conjunction with the National Western Stock Show each January. Roehl's paintings are part of private collections held locally and nationally.