About the Artist
Karen Tyler paints domestic interior scenes and abstracted nude figures rendered in strong colors and layered textures. She likes to work large and let her brushwork express her energy and “quick take” on what she sees. The subjects she paints are all around her, from her home in Virginia to the interiors of friends and family. All it takes to inspire her is a nook or cranny of a room or the colors in her paint box.
Accuracy is not a concern for her, but fresh application and spontaneous gesture are. She like soft edges and loose renderings of her subjects. She oftentimes uses a palette knife instead of a brush to apply her final paint layers to avoid precision and ensure that "perfect is not the enemy of good." She has chosen acrylic paint as her medium to allow her to layer and juxtapose colors quickly one over another.
Karen's mother, Jean Richardson, is a well-known American acrylic painter who gave Karen a first-hand view of a professional artist's life and provided her valuable instruction in painting. Although painting has been Karen's passion, it was not her past profession. She worked for years as a lawyer for the federal government while painting on the side. Karen left the practice of law to become a full-time professional artist in 2018 and, in 2020, juried into the prestigious Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, Virginia as a Resident Artist. Karen's work is represented by art galleries in Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania. She has participated in group shows in Washington, D.C. and Maryland. Her work can be found in private collections across the United States. Karen has her own studio where she paints and sells her work on the third floor of the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, Studio 329.

Art Demo: Paint Layering
October 2020
Join the artist as she takes you through a short video demonstration of her artistic process and paint layering techniques.
Studio News
September 2023
Karen is honored to be one of a small group of artists invited to exhibit and make public presentations about their work at the Virginia Arts and Music Festival at the Lyceum in Alexandria, Virginia on Saturday, September 9, 2023


June 2023
In June, 2023, Karen's new work was exhibited in a two-person show at the Chevy Chase Art Gallery in Washington, D.C. along with another D.C. artist Kui Kavousi.
October 2022
Karen was invited to provide a live art demonstration to members of the Vienna Art Society. The painting shown, Two Patterns, 40 x 40 Acrylic on canvas (2022), was the painting that resulted from the demonstration.


September 2022
The Windsor 18 x 24 Acrylic on canvas (2020) was selected by a jury for exhibition at the Glen Echo 51st Annual Labor Day Art Show, in September, 2022.
August 2022
The City of Fairfax, Virginia provided Karen a grant to provide a live art demonstration for the Fairfax Art League.

August 2021
Dining Al Fresco 48 x 52 Acrylic on canvas (2021) won a merit award in the juried "Artist's Choice" Art Exhibition held by the Art Room Gallery Online.

May 2021
Fuchsia chair and flowers 36 x 48 acrylic on canvas (2021), received an Honorable Mention in the HelvetaArt Gallery's May 2021 online "Spring" Exhibition.
April 2021
Living in Spring (48 x 48 Acrylic on canvas) (2021) was awarded "Best in Show" at the Grey Cube Gallery online "Colors 2021" Exhibition in April 2021.