Karen Sylvester

Karen Sylvester

Awareness of man’s efforts to save the natural environment he has so effortlessly ruined, has had a major impact on Karen and consequently, her work as an artist. The lack of the human form in her landscapes is a deliberate omission, geared at bringing the viewer to the realization of the need to protect Mother Nature from man’s potential to destroy the world around him and to encourage the viewer to step back and acknowledge the beauty of our land.

Karen Sylvester was born on 15th March 1965 and received a secondary education at Holy Name Convent where she obtained an “A” level certificate in Art. After leaving school Karen was determined to pursue a career in Art and set out towards that goal by reading any art books she could lay her hands on, especially books on the European Masters and the early expressionists like Monet and Cézanne and by studying the works of well known local artists like Cazabon, Hinkson, Leroy Clark, Louison, Mosca and Bryden to name a few. The works of these local artists gave her the impetus to go on.

For the past ten years Karen has been exhibiting both locally and abroad. She works in many different media, however acrylic is her favourite medium because of its quick drying time, permanence and versatility. Notes, photographs and sketches are used as references and combined with observation to enhance her ability to conceptualize. Constantly studying her surroundings trains Karen’s visual memory and helps her when combining reality with imagination.

Living in a country such as Trinidad and Tobago and being around a people such as ours and in the company of loving family and friends affords Karen all the inspiration she could ever need. The relationship between the earth, sky and water offers her a great challenge and the unspoiled rustic scenes of Trinidad and Tobago make ideal subjects. It is the artist’s hope that she could evoke an awareness of something unnoticed or forgotten in our surroundings and that her paintings will invite viewers to move into the scene within the picture frames, only to return with renewed love and respect for our natural environment.

Being an artist makes Karen strive towards a better awareness of God, her environment, the people around her and herself. The ability to create a mere image of nature’s magnificence is a gift she will always cherish.