Richmond News

The Culture Crawl opens this month with virtual studios and private artist bookings.

BC Cancer’s fundraiser is this November 7th ! Inspiration Gala starts online, You’ll find two of my paintings donated as well as my art masks.

Live stream tickets are available HERE as we move into virtual galleries and events for 2020.

We Are All The Colors.
30”x 30”
Karen Lorena Parker

Many times people tell me they don’t like colors. Children feel they shouldn’t use black. Design trends, environments, and culturally we all have our preferences. I have many favorite colors, and appreciate them in various percentages. Without black there is no contrast, without muddy dull colors, saturated vibrancy is too garish.

When Rain Gives
You A Rainbow.
20”x 20”
Karen Lorena Parker

I can only humbly express the beauty of nature. The vibrancy from rain, the photosynthesis of liquid sunshine pulsing life through the veins of a petal. The cell structure that is so magnificent. Life is full of joy, and bursting blooms that are beautiful at all stages. Vancouver rain gives us a rich wondrous biosphere of fresh perspective.

Thank you Richmond News for the feature on my BC Cancer Fundraiser at the 2020 Culture Crawl. Valerie Leung was amazing at taking my disjointed thoughts into an article!

See the full article here:

When Rain Gives you a Rainbow
20”x20” acrylic on paper
Karen Lorena Parker BC Cancer
Inspiration Gala donation

We are of all colors. 30”x30” acrylic on paper
Karen Lorena Parker BC Cancer
Inspiration Gala donation

BC Cancer Masked Heroes Initiative

BC Cancer Foundation and Calgary Foothills Hospital Tom Baker Cancer Center.
What do the BC Cancer Foundation and Tom Baker Center have in common with me?
I am proud to say I have worked with both!

Values of Healthcare.

Being on a code team as a phlebotamist, a 20 something psyche aid considering the fine line of mental health, a porter transporting people and supplies to diagnostics or emergency— as well as studying nursing — gave me some perspective of patientcare for seven years. OH! The intricacies of this incredible mini city. Each department had to function well as a whole. All different with the same common core value, patient care. My mom’s engaging stories on the importance of patient care, strategizing a healthy outcome were childhood lessons at the dinner table.

During the Covid pandemic, I wanted to hear more from healthcare communities.

How was a young cancer patient affected with social distancing, not being allowed to bring in a support person, their services being discontinued or disrupted. Personally upset that media was saturated with politicians, I wanted to amplify the voice of those immunosuppressed. I want to hear the insights of the community caring for patients. Give a platform to those transformed by cancer, those experienced. Every day, they had something more important to say that I just couldn’t hear.

In support of the
BC Cancer Foundation

Blog Posts Collaborations, curations, art reviews and pop culture musings.

Thank you for helping me raise $350 for BC Cancer Foundation.
Masks will be on sale soon!

Blog News & Reviews

Romantic Light in Concept Art

Send Us Smokes: Character design, World War 1 Father

Send Us Smokes: short film concept art for Adelaide with her Dog.

Send Us Smokes: Trenches concept

Karen Lorena Parker

Send Us Smokes: Winner of the Hot Shots Shorts Contest, written by #anaisavisser, Directed by #michellegwendolynlee Produced by #jonwarne

How do directors influence mood? It's not only our eyes that follow light, it affects our emotional relationship to the scene. The soft edges, the glow around a subject that directs your eye. The color scripting that tells us we are in a different location. I love cinematography that directs my mood. Although I'm big fan of backlighting, It can't always be hazy smoky orange halos around people's heads. How to create tension on a sunny day?

Send Us Smokes, a World War 1 short was recently awarded the grant from Hot Shots Shorts Contest. Some visual preparation took us to Port Moody Station museum to walk in a trench (built by hand, by volunteers --talk about authentic!) Send Us Smokes, written by Anaisa Visser, produced by Jon Warne, to be directed by Michelle Gwendolyn Kee touched me because it was about people.

In helping illustrate the director's vision, I wasn't romanticizing war in my concepts. I wanted to capture feeling we have for our family. Hoping they are ok, just wanting their life normalized, to be safe, with friends, laughter and belonging. Even if that life is in a war zone.

Repost, tag or share! The film will be in production January 2017.
Written by: Anaisa Visser Send Us Smokes and Border

Contact me regarding concept art, or illustrations,
Follow me, view images, timelapse illustrations on:

Support the Film

Why Artists should voice their concerns.

Attack of 230 ft Lady Justice | Pencil Crayon 40”x60” | Karen Lorena Parker

NRA Question Period illustrates the ludicrous view that to solve gun violence, everyone should have a gun. American values, the fight for liberty somehow equals the freedom to own a gun. My work shows a twist on Rockwell’s American dream. I chose to illustrate a romanticized style of a dystopian future.

Artists have the ability to be imaginative activists, discussing ideas in a fresh direct way. It's 2015, shouldn’t we take on intellectual discussion responsibly ? Human rights, environment (an incredible artist discussing pollution in Asia) or Amy Schumer andSofia Vergara are putting their voice to #endgunviolence in #everytown.  TedTalks open great discussion and debate about how to tackle public opinion on guns. 330 Mass shootings in 365 days this year -- over 50,000 violent incidents in in the USA and rising. Gun violence was something I wanted to approach in a visual manner.

      “Avoid Religion or Political talk at Parties" is what I was taught. One social evening overseas, our party conversation was about the upcoming US election. We agreed the world should contribute their vote to the American Presidency. Giggling, “Why not?” If Superpowers directly affected the world – shouldn’t the global community contribute a tiny vote to foreign policy? Does the world need the divisiveness of #Trump? Will Trump #feeltheBern!!

      Naïve, or idealistic? We didn’t feel judged. International news, witty banter, evocative ideas and real concern were enjoyable. Sure, we were solving the world problems with a martini – but one more voice means one more vote, a little push of political momentum. Expats from countries so far away from Canada politically and culturally, were connected. Voicing concerns feels so good, better than political apathy.  

Everyone’s voice can start a dialogue.
Believing that corporations win, and the hearts of people don’t -- is debilitating, soul numbing. My digital pen is only as mighty as public opinion. Maybe I didn’t think of every angle, maybe I need more practice. Maybe more activists out there will inform my ideas. Why do so few people illuminate their concerns? Fear that you can’t stop? Can’t change your mind? Can’t do it well so don’t try?

Taking a risk for positive change is admirable.Jim Jefferies keeps his cool with paying guests. An entertaining take on gun control starting with The Port Arthur massacre in Australia, he tackles a difficult subject to an audience that paid for a lighthearted approach. What Australia could do, and America couldn’t. Comedic timing for a great cause. #artprotest  

NRA QUESTION ANSWER PERIOD 40”X 60”

We all have leadership qualities. International galleries show more human strife than Canadian ones. One gallerist in South Africa told me, “Canadian art is so boring! All Landscapes!” #WhatdoCanadiansthink? Do I agree with Harper selling the Canadian Wheat Board to Saudi Arabia? Are my children safe at school? Canadian first world values were admired when I was abroad. #Trudeau seems to re-establish Canadian's inclusive voice.

We are a considerate nation with concerns.
A Canadian ‘Sorry’ is not apologetic, it is empathetic. I’m sorry you hurt yourself, because it was painful – not because I was to blame. Provocative and evocative are different things. An image you can’t un-see because your soul engaged in dialogue, doesn’t have to be aggressive, repulsive. You’re accountable only to informing your concern. A sad laugh, a happy tear, a scene that touched you, stirs up important self-discussion.

   Your character shows. We can’t hide our response to the power of the image. Even dismissive politeness says something. If art doesn’t engage you on some lasting level – powerful, engaging, cathartic, meditative -- why bother make it, why own it?

NRA Question Period is romanticized image that can be beautiful and repulsive. I wanted to create an insightful, editorial that speaks of my concern. Artists can create intensity and beauty. Graceful emotional dialogue makes a very entertaining dinner guest.

Thank you #JoAnneMiller for having me in the Directory of Illustration, page 499.
Commissions available.

BLOG POSTS
Collaborations, curations and pop culture musings of Karen Lorena Parker

#IDSwest Inspiring Moments

Perspective Moments in Art Happenings

Inspiring moments included #HCMA, an architect design group that is focusing on “What’s Possible?” vs “This is what we do” mindset. Starting with community, they are using their expertise to connect people, engage and activate sites in Vancouver (HCMA day). Isn’t that what architects are supposed to do? Seems they are one of the rare few.

#TiltMoments, when you can change your perspective to a problem or help others see things differently. HCMA has a different approach to playtime – a serious approach. The work is getting done, and getting noticed. Multidisciplinary design including artists in residence, interior and graphic designers. The world is finally catching up instead of trying to label the talents of renaissance artists. Join @MarkBusse creativemornings

@VanArtRental  Donna Partridge compared the feeling when seeing art as the same physical emotional response seeing someone we love. Rapid heartbeat, dizziness, The Stendhal syndrome or Florence syndrome sparks in countries where people visit galleries in the summer. The value of art in a space is an emotional one. Building a relationship with artists adds to that emotional investment.

Speaking with @upwardconstruct owner Michael, I felt another kindred professional who speaks of using a green living wall on large sites - -as a gift to your neighbor vs a large concrete structure. Ways that we can build our homes and structures --  not just for us but for community benefit. What better way to make our home a treasure, when it is surrounded by a community of happiness.

A Painting Every Day

The Art of Digital Sketchbooks.

Karen Lorena Parker

Excellence is a habit, and so I have had a career, painting every day. As I now want to work as a Concept Artist/ Matte Painter -- my speed has to be up there with the best. Most people ask me how long my paintings (fine art) take, and my answer is more than a month. But Daily-ies require me to work faster. Concepts in minutes, and reiterate for my lead, to show clients, directors, and start over again. As my speed increases for Matte painting, my photo-realistic work will be back to the enjoyable months of perfection.

Portraiture is an interesting challenge to not only capture resemblance, but expression, tonality and the psychology of what we think is beautiful, what we accept as ourselves. These are digital illustrations in photoshop. No mess, no paint to mix. Although I tried to keep them to an hour time limit -- they usually took about 2-4 hours.

Procreate

The IPad has given us the incredibly intuitive Procreate. One of the default features, is recording your timelapse!

Proud to be in a Ted Talk #TEDxRCW

Like many, I have admired Ted.com. This is what the internet was made for: to bring forth great ideas that could be shared. (Their tagline is better!) I admire speakers that share insight in a funny or engaging way. In October, I was very honored and thankful that my visual expertise could help support experienced speaker Ranbir Puar at TEDxRCW.

Ranbir speaks to children about breathing in sunshine, to feel within you the magical light that can create, make your dreams come true, and exhaling that which interferes. To know that this light is your true being. It starts from your breath, at a cellular level. To know your life is to create and grow what you choose. To weed out what stops you from your life purpose. To keep breathing and nourishing yourself with your inner light. 

I understood this message. Being a creator, and also being someone with childhood fears. Could my style of paintings, my illustrations be suitable for a Ted talk? I have never been a great cartoonist as I have always given into the lusciousness of the medium. The dialogue you have with watercolor seeping into the paper, or the thick paint that is creamy, or moves where you didn’t expect it to. The smudges, the smears. My work has always been about the failure. Listening to it, and accepting it, so that it can inform your next stroke. Yet it is the layers of mistakes that give 70sNonchalance and Ucluelet dimension, atmosphere.

Yes, one breath at a time, I think I have moved on. I enjoy my own process. I now appreciate my mistakes, very very much. Thank you Ranbir for making a dream come true -- to contribute to a Ted talk -- a dream I didn't realize I had until today. If you had 18  minutes to inspire a community, What would be your idea worth sharing?

Tonal Studies for DMP Concepts.

Lenses, camera angles are new to me--so much visual language to learn in film! But tonal studies, I can definitely relate to being a landscape painter. Tones change dramatically as you move from foreground to mid-ground to background. Tonal studies in black and white simplify atmospheric perspective where colours relate to their surroundings. Like driving the TransCanada, our tree lined mountains are bluer in the distance, but the same mountains become green when becoming a foreground element. The contrast also changes, as the foreground trees show dark shadows (blackpoint) where the distant trees have less contrast, and the black never gets darker than a grey.

As always, the artist directs the viewer, sets the tone and mood depending on how you choose these tonalities. Start with a strong sense of light, an intention. Depth is just another tool to help direct focus. Consider areas of contrast, and how tones relate to one another to achieve a strong composition with purpose.

Tofino: New Work

Happy to finish this 79"x59" painting for a Vancouver client. Colorful but dramatic Tofino. Always inspiring. New work will be shown during October Exhibition. Please rsvp for private invitation.

WestCoast Trail Concept

The epic West Coast trail, where you challenge yourself physically and mentally. May - September offers you a wild taste of the dramatic forces of nature.

1970s Revelstoke Concept

Tofino

Tofino -in progress

Enjoying a commission of stormy dramatic Tofino -- but in a colorful palette. Nice to be a bright kind of moody in the summer!