The Blank Canvas
The Artistic Statement of Karla Ries

My real foray into art started around the age of 13 when my mother gifted my father and I with a painting class. Thirty plus years later I’m happy to say my father and I are both happily painting away and even happier to say my husband stands along side us crafting art of his own. My mom is our biggest supporter and as she’s the one who started us down this path I believe she deserves the greatest round of applause.

Art for me and my paintings specifically are a way of capturing scenes that I have experienced in my life’s journey. Each image that I create is based upon a scene or a location that has caught my eye for one reason or another; perhaps the color of a scene spoke to me or the way the light looked on a specific subject.

My process involves enjoying life around me – this can be as simple as stepping out my backdoor and discovering the powerful beauty of a single flower, visiting a zoo and being captivated by the wonder of a gorilla or wandering the sidewalks of a large city and looking up to see the reflections of the buildings around me. Where ever my husband and I might travel we’re sure to have our cameras at the ready, capturing digitally whatever catches our eye. Then it’s back to the computer to sort and put aside those images that spark an interest. Once I’ve selected my subject matter, it’s only a matter of transferring that image onto paper or canvas depending upon my medium of choice. For a number of years I worked in watercolor almost exclusively, but a few years ago I started working in acrylic and this past year I dived into the medium of oil. The drawing is the tedious part for me – I can’t wait to get past that stage and start applying color. Each medium has its own challenges but I’m learning something every time I pick up a brush.

My style has evolved greatly over the years. I can candidly share that while my father and I still have our first paintings from that long ago art class they reside in the attic rarely seeing the light of day. It is refreshing to stumble across them from time to time if only to map the progress in our painting abilities.
I truly think that art has enriched my life and I hope my work pays respect to the joy I have found with it.