Karen E. Lewis grew up on the water, swimming, kayaking and later guiding rafting tours down the Deschutes River. She came to painting accidentally, but quickly became obsessed. Water naturally became her main subject, and a new way for her to connect with what she treasured the most. Karen’s landscapes, with their warm tones and atmospheric light, project a great love of the scenery and nature. The impressionistic colors, violet mountains and orange riverbanks provide a dream-like quality to the scenes. They feel similar to how you would remember a beautiful place years after visiting, as something magical and not altogether real. She places the viewer on the river, so that we are floating through the scene with her, dwarfed by the other elements of the landscape. Karen’s car is always stocked with her painting materials in case she comes across an inspiring scene and wants to capture it. She recently experienced a beautiful sunset in the Trader Joe’s parking lot, and fortunately she was prepared with an easel and paint.