BB&T Bank on Art Gallery - Jan-Mar 2018
CCAL, in conjunction with the BB&T, is proud to announce the third quarter artist on display in the "BB&T Bank on Art Gallery". The gallery is located in the lobby of the Chapin BB&T Branch and hosts the artwork of one of Crooked Creek Art League's fine artists. This quarter, the display in the gallery showcases artwork by Karen Larrabee. Karen's piece "Just Breathe" is a mixed media painting.
Featured Artwork: "Just Breathe"
"JUST BREATHE" is a mixed media piece that blends a photo transfer with an acrylic painting. The model, Ashley Weathers Skriba, a former neighbor wearing a dress given to Karen by another neighbor, "indulged me, by posing in my back yard and on a rock in Lake Murray for a photo shoot. I felt this picture captured a feeling of ambiguity. I loved how the light was captured in her hair and dress, and I was also intrigued by the fact that I wasn't sure what she was thinking. But I also had a feeling of 'Ah......., just breathe...' Hence the title and the use of a little bit of fairy dust."
Artist Bio
A past-president and member of the Crooked Creek Art League, Karen Larrabee moved to Chapin, SC, 11 years ago and feels blessed by the move.
Karen was born and raised in northern NJ and loved to draw and paint since “forever, it seems”. Her awards began in high school where she had a wonderful and encouraging art program. Marietta College, a small, liberal arts school in Marietta, Ohio, lured her to the Midwest. She received a B.A. in art and education and eventually a Master’s of Liberal learning, (yes, a MA.L.L. degree!) with concentrations in studio art, art history and art education, where her awards continued. While in Ohio, she married, raised a family and taught art for 30 years until her retirement in 2004, continuing to grow her resume. After her daughter transferred to USC, Karen and her husband, David, fell in love with the Midlands. The rest, as they say, “is history”. So far in SC she has been become a Member of Excellence in the South Carolina Watermedia Society, she has been juried into the Greenwood Arts Festival, the Union Exhibit and the State Fair competition every year she has entered, receiving Patron Purchase Awards at the fair in 2009, 2011 and 2014 and a Merit award in 2017. She has also won 8 awards from the Crooked Creek Art League’s Juried Exhibitions including the People's Choice Award in 2014. Karen says, “I like to define myself as a free-style artist as I love all things creative. I have continuously been exposed to, and engaged in many media and styles and enjoy the freedom to be creative and experiment artistically." Karen Larrabee
