African Safari - 1

This work is part of a new series inspired by Africa, my home for many years.

From the artist : "The shape, form and the repetition are used as a veneer over the layers of paint below; these brush strokes have a sense of conformity. This is in reference to events of the last 2 + years, the tonal changes and organic shapes of the brush strokes are in response to the creative urge to respond differently"

This new body of work evolved during lockdowns, with so much time available in the studio, and often in response to being confined, and restricted; my focus became narrow and directed intensely on detail. The dried native flowers in my studio used in previous works were packed full of shapes. This became my focus, I concentrated on the minute aspects of the banksia flowers and the protea flowers.

These flowers are made up from an abundance of tiny brush stroke shaped flowers, they really caught my imagination.

After a series of experiments they have evolved into these mesmerizing works and an unintended consequence in the form of a therapeutic art process . These native flowers have featured constantly in my southern hemisphere upbringing, and life between South Africa and Australia.

The sides are painted, and the work is signed on the back and on the side, so a collector may well choose a different orientation. Ready to hang no need to frame

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Featured on THE BLOCK 2025!
Having resided in South Africa and Australia, Karen Goddard’s abstracts and floral artworks are deeply influenced by the botanicals and environmental facets familiar to both. Her still life depictions encapsulate the innate shapes and exuberance of her organic subjects, while her mark making abstractions embody their unique and specific colourations. Previously living through times of national turmoil and transformation, her works persistently focus on the beauty of her natural surroundings, and deliver an emotive and meditative quality that arouses captivation and peace.

Favouring an impressionistic creative approach, Karen alternates between oils and acrylics in order to produce diverse compositional elements, imagery and texturizations. She typically begins by depositing a ground colour onto the canvas, which habitually determines the ethos of the work. Layering the complimentary colours in stages, which are individually mixed through a meticulously process, each of the darker shades are typically set down first, while lighter colours are introduced later. A pattern of short and repetitive brushstrokes are utilised in the creation of her abstracts, which produces an overlay over the existing colour work, and instigates the qualities of movement and flow.

Extremely diverse in her work, Karen is an Australian Artist Located in Queensland. Karen has called the Gold Coast home for over 16 years where she paints full time. Educated originally in the UK, her travels sent her to South Africa in her teens, where she worked for an Investment Company in Cape Town for many years. It was later when Karen had young children that she decided to study Art, and learned sound skills in all mediums, giving her a strong foundation in drawing, collage, print making and painting with Oils and Acrylics and water colours. Inspired by Impressionist period, she is fearless in her use of colour; a diverse Artist, working across the spectrum of compositions, from Abstract to Portraiture, Landscape and Still Life. Constantly challenging herself to produce a varying body of work. Some of these are now available on Blue thumb. Enjoy the gallery and thank you for looking.