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Karen Hagan

"She has an innate sense of color and composition and when it is coupled with the way she handles the media, magic occurs."   - Theresa Golas, Director of The Iredell Museums (Statesville, NC).  

Karen Hewitt Hagan is living the quintessential life of an accomplished artist. The Florence, S.C. native leads destination workshops in Charleston, Italy, the Bahamas, and France. Her works are collected nationally and are in the permanent collection of fine resorts like The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island. She is also a frequent juror for Plein Air Magazine’s art competitions.  

Though she’s traveled the world, lived aboard a boat (aptly named Plein Air) she says Charleston continues to be her calm, stable source of inspiration. “If I were marooned in just one place on earth, I’d want it to be Charleston. With almost three decades of study of the masters, teaching and painting I describe my paintings as painterly, loose, and juicy. They’re colorful, and hopefully, full of light. Most  people call me an impressionistic landscape painter, but I resist putting titles on myself because I always want to explore. While I hold true to traditional drawing and composition methods, I continue to experiment and push the boundaries of painting.”

Karen is also a cancer survivor. That experience changed her perspective on her life and work. “I’ve had a whole lot of changes in the last fifteen years; moving back to land, helping to renovate many houses, founding and running a gallery for fourteen years, selling the gallery, as well as marrying the love of my life (Tommy Smith). I’ve found that my paintings follow my heart, and what’s happening with my emotions usually flows through my brush.  I’m in a really good place now and feel very grateful to be healthy, especially happy, and painting every day!”

Education
~ Bachelor of Arts: College of Journalism, The University of South Carolina, Columbia SC, 1983
~ Gibbes Museum Studio School, (Workshops) Charleston SC, Scottsdale Artist School / Offsite Vermont Class
~ Armory Arts Center; W. Palm Beach, FL, Independent  Painting and Drawing Workshops & Classes across the US, Critique by Charleston artist, John C. Doyle.
~ Studied with many impressionistic masters throughout the US  including: John Budicin, Kim English, Charles Sovak, Lynn Gertenbach, Kenn Backhaus, Gay Faulkenberry, West Fraser.