Karen Vanderpool-Haerle’s piece “Winter Prairie Revisited” is 48 inches by 36 inches, oil on canvas. Courtesy image.
This month, Art on Main is showcasing the abstract landscapes of Dallas-based artist Karen Vanderpool-Haerle.
You can see the exhibit Wander: Explorations, Real and Imagined from Feb. 12 through March 7. The opening reception will take place next weekend — 6 p.m. Feb. 21 — while the closing event is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. March 7.
This show is aptly titled since Vanderpool-Haerle gets her inspiration from hiking, kayaking and exploring, according to a press release. The places depicted in paintings and ceramics are both real and imagined, and the art is meant to evoke discovery and freedom. Vanderpool-Haerle also aims to explore ecological renewal and balance in her work.
“Karen’s work embodies the spirit of exploration,” Art on Main founder Andrea Lamarsaude said in the press release. “Wander invites viewers to slow down, move through space with intention and consider both the physical landscapes around us and the imaginative landscapes within us.”
“Poppies!” is 18 inches by 18 inches, oil on panel by Karen Vanderpool-Haerle. Courtesy image.
You can expect to see bold lines, shapes and colors in Vanderpool-Haerle’s work, plus visible brush strokes. Her painting “Poppies!” is a more traditional version of the landscape, while others turn the genre on its head.
“I am predominantly an observational painter,” the artist said in the press release, “but I observe in order to change it — to create an emotional response to the landscape. I want to paint more than I see: the wind, the sun, the changing light.”