PLEIN AIR NEW BERN
  • Home
  • About
  • Our Artists
  • Contact
  • Sponsorship
  • Volunteer

Karen Lee Crenshaw

Picture
Karen Lee Crenshaw has been drawing since she used to scribble on the walls as a child.” She earned a BS in Art Ed from Concord University and an MFA in Painting from George Washington University. Karen has lived in Jacksonville, NC, for nineteen years where she maintains Crenshaw Art Studio in her home and at ArtExposure in Hampstead, NC.


She has fallen in love with beautiful coastal North Carolina. Marshes, rivers, lakes, and the vessels that sail upon them capture her eye.  
“A sense of place. That is the goal of my landscape paintings, for the viewer to "see" what I am seeing and to feel that is a place they have been or would like to visit. Plein air painting inspires me to capture the quality of the light that sets off that connection. Many of my paintings depict the pinkish-blue tones of early morning light or the amber tones of late afternoon. I love the contrasts of forms and oblique angles and shapes that occur when the sun is low on the horizon. My challenge is to capture that moment in time, working quickly and keeping a dynamic abstract pattern with energetic brush strokes.”
  
In addition to landscapes, Karen accepts portrait commissions, specializing in portraits of women and children. Her work is traditional and lifelike, yet it maintains a painterly quality. She enjoys providing clients with an heirloom that will last for many generations.  “I especially love working with children and capturing that innocence that seems to pass so quickly,” the artist says.  


Karen's landscapes were selected for reproduction in a recent book, "Painting North Carolina, A Visual Journey," by Kimberly Maselli. Her work joins those of 32 regionally and nationally known landscape painters.
 
September 2019                 “Faces of Jacksonville, Thirty Portraits in Thirty Days,” Solo Show, Onslow Council for the Arts, Jacksonville, NC
August 2019                       Landfall Association Art Show and Sale, Wilmington, NC
May-June 2019                  “Portraits and Landscapes,” Solo Show, Burgwin-Wright House, Wilmington, VA
May 2019                           NC Marine Arts Guild Invitational Plein Air Invitational, Beaufort, NC
April-June 2019                 “North Carolina Impressions,” Group Show with PAINTNC,” Hampton Gallery Kinston Community Council for the arts, Kinston, NC
April 2019                          Plein Air VA, Invitational, East Beach Clubhouse, Norfolk, VA, Andre Lucero, Juror
April 2019                         Azalea Festival Plein Air Paint Out, Invitational, Wilmington, NC, Star Sosa, Juror
                                           “Pergola Promenade,” Third Place,
April 2019                         Wilmington Art Association 37th Annual Spring Juried Show and Sale, Juror, Dan Nelson
                                           Susan Veerman Memorial Award, “Surf City Swing Bridge, Sunset,”
February 2019                    North Ridge Art Gala, Finalist, North Ridge Country Club, Raleigh, NC
January 2019                      Nansemon-Suffolk Academy 33rd Annual Art Show and Sale, Suffolk, VA
 
 
October 2018                     Legacy: William Woodward and His Students, Arts Club of Washington, DC
August 2018                       6th Annual Summer Plein Air Show, Crystal Moll Gallery, Baltimore, MD
August 2018                       Landfall Foundation Art Show and Sale, Wilmington, NC
June 2018                          Cape Fear Studios National Juried Competition, Fayetteville, NC, William Jameson, Juror
 “Poppies on the Sound,” Second Place
May 2018                          Kinston CCA Plein Air Paint Out, Jeremy Sams, Juror
                                           “Lavender Fields Forever, “First Place
April-May 2018                 Plein Air Invitational, Kinston Community Council for the Arts, Kinston, NC
April 2018                          Wilmington Art Association 36th Annual Spring Show and Sale, Wilmington, NC
February 2018                  Kinston CCA 37th Annual National Competitive Exhibition, Kinston, NC
Tunde Afolayan Famous, Juror, “Tangerine,” Best in Show
 
Sept 2017-July 2018          State of the Art, Art of the State, Cameron Art Museum, Wilmington, NC
August 2017                      “Artists Choice,” ArtExposure, Hampstead, NC, Todd Carignan, Juror
“Surf City Swing Bridge, Sunset,” First Place
April 2017                         Art Block Plein Air Paint Out, Jacksonville, NC. Irene Bailey, Juror
                                           “Marsh at Wilson Bay,” First Place
April 2017                         WAA 35th Annual Spring Show and Sale, Wilmington, NC. Joe deJulio, Juror, “Island Inlet,”
 Ziabird Gallery Award
February 2017                   North Ridge Art Gala Finalist, Larry Wheeler, Director, North Carolina Museum of Art, Juror
February 2017                  Kinston CCA36th Annual National Competitive Exhibition, Kinston, NC
                                           Bob Rankin, Juror. “Seaside Cottage,” Merit Award             
 
October 2016                    Onslow Art Society Fall Juried Show, Council for the Arts, Jacksonville, NC
                                           “Cassidy in the Rose Garden,” Merit Award
September 2016                 “Faces and Places,” Solo Show, Council for the Arts, Jacksonville, NC
August 2016                       Landfall Foundation 2016 Art Show and Sale, Wilmington, NC. Dan Beck, Juror
July-Aug 2016                   “Plein Air: Of Color and Light, Artists of PAINTNC,” Cape Fear Studios,
Fayetteville, NC. Group show with PAINTNC artists
June 2016                           Women’s Art Guild, “An Homage to the Women of Wilmington,” Wilmington, NC
June 2016                          Cape Fear Studios National Juried Exhibition, Dan Beck, Juror
                                           “Vibrant Field,” First Place
April-June 2016                 “PAINTNC: Renderings from the Mountains to the Coast,” Kinston Community Council for the Arts, Kinston, NC. Group show with PAINTNC artists
April 2016                         Wilmington Art Association 34th Annual Spring Show and Sale, Chad Matthew Smith, Juror, “Seaside Cottage,” Frank X Rogers Memorial award
March 2016                        Onslow Art Society Spring Show, Bradford Baysden Art Gallery, Jacksonville, NC
Holly Tripman, Cameron Museum of Art, Juror
February 2016                    Kinston CCA 35th Annual National Competitive Exhibition, Kinston, NC
                                           Ann Brennan, Director of the Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, NC, Juror
February 2016                    Nansemond-Suffolk Academy Art Show and Sale, Suffolk, VA
January 2016                      Jenkins Gallery Featured Artist with Artist, Sue Bark, Arts of the Albemarle, Elizabeth City, NC. Two-person show

​
karenleecrenshaw.com/

Picture

​Contact Us at info@pleinairnewbern.com
or 252-638-2577
​

Copyright 2019 Craven Arts Council & Gallery
Want to learn more about Craven Arts Council? Check us out at www.cravenarts.org
​

Click the button to see and follow our social media accounts!
  • Home
  • About
  • Our Artists
  • Contact
  • Sponsorship
  • Volunteer