Karren Stoneham is an artist residing in Anglesea on the Surf Coast of Victoria, Australia

Drawing inspiration from the soaring cliffs, dramatic skies, breathtaking ocean, the ever-changing mood of the natural environment motivates her work.

Wandering through the seaside landscape of her coastal home, she returns to the days when one would find a patch of grass, lie back and watch clouds go by. Immersing in the imagination of a carefree world where colours harmonise and contrast from moment to moment, Karren’s paintings are primarily about reverie, a sense of place, a desire to be in the moment.

Photography, memory and imagination all become the reference points that contribute to creating her paintings’. Discovering a love for oil painting, she developed her creative heart at Porta Vermelha Studio. During Covid times, she has been refining her artistic process.

Karren creates her art with her hands and the occasional use of a palette knife or brush to underline. She specialises in illustrating clouds and the dramatic, beautiful coastline of her own backyard. Translating this beauty onto large scale round panels, these circular canvases have become quite fundamental to her art. They symbolise windows or portholes looking out into the Surf Coast’s dreamlike realism, adding an interesting dynamic to the paintings. Aerial perspectives are intended to inspire the viewer to reflect on the endless majesty of coastal Australia.