Karen Lee Crenshaw
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.
karenleecrenshaw.com/
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.
karenleecrenshaw.com/
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.
Sept-Oct 2021 OPA Eastern Regional Exhibition, Bradenton, FL, Katie Dobson Cundiff, Awards Juror
Sept 2021 Plein Air Suffolk, Suffolk, VA
August 2021 Landfall Association Art Show and Sale, Wilmington, NC, Sterling Edwards, Juror
May 2021 Plein Air New Bern, New Bern, NC, Torrey Stroud, Juror
April 2021 ArtFields 2021, Lake City, SC
April-May 2021 Oil Painters of America 30th Anniversary Exhibition, California Museum of the Arts, Escondido, CA
April 2021 Coastal VA Plein Air, Plein Air Invitational, Juror, Stephen Doherty
April 2021 Wilmington Art Association 39th Annual Spring Juried Show and Sale, Ben Billingsley, Juror
“Surf City Swing Bridge, One Last Crossing” Blick Art Award
January 2021 Nansemond-Suffolk Academy 33rd Annual Art Show and Sale, Suffolk, VA
November 2020 2020 Fall Open Juried Exhibition, Finalist, Portrait Society of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, Juror, Louis Carr
April 2020 Wilmington Art Association 39th Annual Spring Juried Show and Sale, Katherine Wolf Webb, Juror
February 2020 Kinston CCA 39th Annual National Competitive Exhibition, Kinston, NC
January 2020 Nansemond-Suffolk Academy 33rd Annual Art Show and Sale, Suffolk, VA
September 2019 “Faces of Jacksonville, Thirty Portraits in Thirty Days,” Solo Show, Onslow Council for the Arts, Jacksonville, NC. Completed with a North Carolina Regional Artists Grant.
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
Oct-Dec 2015 Arts of the Pamlico 52nd Fine Art Juried Show and Sale,” Fritzi Huber, Juror
“Marsh in Autumn, V,” First Place
October 2015 Onslow Council for the Arts Fall Juried Show, Council for the Arts, Jacksonville, NC, Sarah Merritt, Art Council of Wayne County, Juror
“Autumn Marsh, V” First Place
September 2015 Featured Artist, Fine Art at Baxter’s, New Bern, NC
August 2015 Landfall Foundation Art Show, Wilmington, NV, Nicole White Kennedy, Juror
“Marsh Down East, I” First Place in Oils
August 2015 NC Open Plein Air Paint Out, Salisbury, NC, John Ebersberger, Juror
“Evening Sky, Rowan County,” Honorable Mention
August 2015 “Artists Choice,” ArtExposure, Hampstead, NC
“Vibrant Field, First Place
July 2015 “In the Landscape” Plein Air Exhibition, Juried by Jeremy Sams and Brenda Behr
Waterworks Visual Arts Center, Salisbury, NC
June 2015 Elizabeth City SPLASH Plein Air Paint Out, Peter Marsh, Juror
"Boathouse Crane," First Place
May 2015 Kinston CCA Plein Air Paint Out, Jeremy Sams, Juror
"Green Door," Third Place
April 2015 Art Block Plein Air Paint Out and Sale, Jacksonville, NC
"Big Blue and Spring Green," Honorable Mention
April 2015 Onslow Art Society Spring Art Show, Bradford Baysden Art Gallery, Jacksonville, NC, "Red Marsh Grasses," Onslow County Artist Award
April 2015 WAA Juried Spring Art Show and Sale, Dan Beck, Juror
" Marsh in Autumn, IV," Ziabird Art Gallery Award
March 2015 Kinston CCA 34th National Competitive Exhibition, Kinston, NC,
Connie Winters, Juror; "Portrait of Martha," Third Place
Sept-Oct 2021 OPA Eastern Regional Exhibition, Bradenton, FL, Katie Dobson Cundiff, Awards Juror
Sept 2021 Plein Air Suffolk, Suffolk, VA
August 2021 Landfall Association Art Show and Sale, Wilmington, NC, Sterling Edwards, Juror
May 2021 Plein Air New Bern, New Bern, NC, Torrey Stroud, Juror
April 2021 ArtFields 2021, Lake City, SC
April-May 2021 Oil Painters of America 30th Anniversary Exhibition, California Museum of the Arts, Escondido, CA
April 2021 Coastal VA Plein Air, Plein Air Invitational, Juror, Stephen Doherty
April 2021 Wilmington Art Association 39th Annual Spring Juried Show and Sale, Ben Billingsley, Juror
“Surf City Swing Bridge, One Last Crossing” Blick Art Award
January 2021 Nansemond-Suffolk Academy 33rd Annual Art Show and Sale, Suffolk, VA
November 2020 2020 Fall Open Juried Exhibition, Finalist, Portrait Society of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, Juror, Louis Carr
April 2020 Wilmington Art Association 39th Annual Spring Juried Show and Sale, Katherine Wolf Webb, Juror
February 2020 Kinston CCA 39th Annual National Competitive Exhibition, Kinston, NC
January 2020 Nansemond-Suffolk Academy 33rd Annual Art Show and Sale, Suffolk, VA
September 2019 “Faces of Jacksonville, Thirty Portraits in Thirty Days,” Solo Show, Onslow Council for the Arts, Jacksonville, NC. Completed with a North Carolina Regional Artists Grant.
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
Oct-Dec 2015 Arts of the Pamlico 52nd Fine Art Juried Show and Sale,” Fritzi Huber, Juror
“Marsh in Autumn, V,” First Place
October 2015 Onslow Council for the Arts Fall Juried Show, Council for the Arts, Jacksonville, NC, Sarah Merritt, Art Council of Wayne County, Juror
“Autumn Marsh, V” First Place
September 2015 Featured Artist, Fine Art at Baxter’s, New Bern, NC
August 2015 Landfall Foundation Art Show, Wilmington, NV, Nicole White Kennedy, Juror
“Marsh Down East, I” First Place in Oils
August 2015 NC Open Plein Air Paint Out, Salisbury, NC, John Ebersberger, Juror
“Evening Sky, Rowan County,” Honorable Mention
August 2015 “Artists Choice,” ArtExposure, Hampstead, NC
“Vibrant Field, First Place
July 2015 “In the Landscape” Plein Air Exhibition, Juried by Jeremy Sams and Brenda Behr
Waterworks Visual Arts Center, Salisbury, NC
June 2015 Elizabeth City SPLASH Plein Air Paint Out, Peter Marsh, Juror
"Boathouse Crane," First Place
May 2015 Kinston CCA Plein Air Paint Out, Jeremy Sams, Juror
"Green Door," Third Place
April 2015 Art Block Plein Air Paint Out and Sale, Jacksonville, NC
"Big Blue and Spring Green," Honorable Mention
April 2015 Onslow Art Society Spring Art Show, Bradford Baysden Art Gallery, Jacksonville, NC, "Red Marsh Grasses," Onslow County Artist Award
April 2015 WAA Juried Spring Art Show and Sale, Dan Beck, Juror
" Marsh in Autumn, IV," Ziabird Art Gallery Award
March 2015 Kinston CCA 34th National Competitive Exhibition, Kinston, NC,
Connie Winters, Juror; "Portrait of Martha," Third Place
