THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 9, 1996 TAG: 9608070107
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 62 lines
Throughout August, art lovers can see the new works of acclaimed Chesapeake artist Karen Wagner Kinser.
The Chesapeake Central Library at 298 Cedar Road will be the site of an exhibition featuring 14 recent oil works by the Chesapeake painter.
Kinser, who's based at the d'Art Center in Norfolk, made a name for herself through her colorful pastels of female nudes. She left the world of pastels behind a little more than a year ago to concentrate on oils.
``Pastels were so hard to transport,'' Kinser said. ``You have to be very careful with them, and the pastels are basically like powder. They can drift off the surface, ruining mats and frames.''
The Blackwater Road resident said she began with pastels - coloring matter mixed with gum to make a type of crayon - because it allowed her to draw and gave her the opportunity to work with colors.
``I still enjoy pastels,'' she said. ``In fact, I'll be teaching a course on them in November at the Virginia Beach Center for the Arts. It has been a slow progression into oils.''
Kinser said she still considers herself a figurative artist, dealing with the human form, mainly women, inspired by the style of Degas, Manet and Gauguin.
``The figure is my love,'' she said. ``I like working with the emotions and the colors in expressing the human form. I like a lot of movement. I like to be free with my color choices. I try to include as many colors as a way of expressing that. When looking at one of my forms, for example, you'll see just about every color except flesh tones.''
Along with her figures, Kinser said she's working on and producing a series of paintings of people smoking and a series of people reading books.
She said several of her ``Readers'' series will be included in the library show along with several studies of elderly people. There will be one of her ``Smokers'' series in the exhibit, too.
``I've been trying to get variations of human figures in my paintings,'' she said. ``The cohesive thread running through my `Smokers' series, for instance, is using the cigarette as a symbol for the isolated, contemporary figure. There will be one or two at the library. Most of the others have been entered in juried art shows.''
Although Kinser uses professional models for her paintings, she still carries her trusty camera everywhere she goes to take photos of everyday people to use as models.
``I've been trying to get away from just pretty pictures,'' she said. ``The human figure and facial expression in any form is what I want to capture on canvas.''
It seems she's succeeding in her quest.
Since May she has shown her works at the Hilton Village Art Show in Newport News; the Arts Atlantica show in Ocean City, Md.; the Virginia Beach Boardwalk Art Show; and the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival in Reston.
She received a ``Best In Painting'' award at the Ocean City show and third place at the Boardwalk show. MEMO: More information about Kinser's art or her exhibitions is
available by calling 482-1260. Her works will be on display at the
Chesapeake Central Library, 298 Cedar Road, throughout August during
regular library hours. ILLUSTRATION: ``The Audition'' by Karen Kinser by CNB