About Karen Rieger

Colour is of prime importance in my work, evoking mood, sensuality and a sense of beauty. Relatively flat areas of colour are used to emphasize the formal qualities in each painting and there is no attempt to create the illusion of reality.

My paintings are a rich pastiche comprised of diverse inspirations such as the avant-garde and post-impressionist movements of the 19th and 20th centuries, European textile patterns and sources derived from my immediate environment. A dialogue between my imagination and the past informs the work.

The painting begins to reveal itself as the brush interacts with the canvas. There are no preparatory sketches. The process of creating the painting is intuitive and remains exciting and spontaneous. The composition is drawn directly onto the canvas with conte´ or brush, beginning with the figure or a vase of flowers, and then creating the surrounding environment. When the composition is completed with the various elements in place, the underpainting is begun. Layers of paint are added to the surface, allowing the colour of the underpainting to show through, creating richness and a depth to the surface colour.

The faces are derived from my imagination, the features generalized to suggest universality rather than a specific person. Inspiration for the still life paintings may come from a bouquet on my table, or many times they simply emerge luxuriantly and fully formed onto the canvas.