Karen Knutson.
Like most artists, I started painting traditional watercolors, wanting my paintings to look like my subject. About 1998, all that changed. I started to make my paintings unique and it was unimportant whether the painting resembles the subject or not. It is my hope that you'll be drawn to my paintings by their colors, the good design, and the peaceful nature of my work.
I started my journey in watercolor in 1985, and have been painting almost every day since that time. I truly love being an artist and feel very blessed to actually get paid to do something that I love so much. My routine consisted of teaching workshops, participating in art fairs in the summer months, and painting commission paintings and original paintings for the galleries in the winter months. In 2023, I decided to take a break from teaching so that I could spend more time painting the paintings I wanted, and also spend more time with family and plein air painting.
I attended Concordia College in Moorhead, MN and have taken many watercolor workshops from nationally known artists, such as John Salminen, Karlyn Holman, Mary Ann Beckwith, Gerald Brommer, Carole Barnes, Barbara Nechis, Mark Mahaffey, and Diane Faxon. I have taken countless more workshops, but the ones mentioned have had the greatest influence over the direction of my artwork. I will always be eternally grateful to my first watercolor instructor, Raghnild Berstol, whose positive comments and free spirited demonstrations headed me in the right direction and I've been addicted to watercolor ever since.
Originally from a ranch in Montana, I now reside in Minneapolis with my husband of 50 years. We have two children and 4 beautiful grandchildren.
I started painting with watercolors, but now I’ve added collage and acrylic, which produces wonderful textures and color discoveries. My paintings are sometimes totally abstract, and sometimes there is something recognizable in the painting. I like my paintings to be different than “normal paintings” - anything that will make the viewer take a second look and be drawn into the painting! I used to be attracted to paintings with unusual colors, but now I’m drawn to paintings with dynamic design. First and foremost, I like to have fun while I paint, and I’m constantly trying out new things, so that I will grow as an artist. I feel like the luckiest person alive to be able to do something that I love so much!
My paintings are featured in Splash 6, Watercolor, Fun and Free, and Searching for the Artist Within , Watercolor- The Spirit of Spontaneity, Watercolor without Boundaries, The Artistic Touch 4, Watercolor- Making your Mark, and the magazine, Watercolor Magic (Aug.’04). I have earned signature membership in the American Watercolor Society, National Watercolor Society, Transparent Watercolor Society of America, San Diego Watercolor Society, Rocky Mountain Watercolor Society, Northwest Watercolor Society, Missouri Watercolor Society, Red River Watercolor Society, Minnesota Watercolor Society, Montana Watercolor Society, Florida Watercolor Society, Northern Plains Watercolor Society, and Northstar Watercolor Society. She has won many awards, both locally and nationally. I was featured in Watercolor Artist magazine as “Ones to Watch” in the December 2016 issue and recently was featured in Watercolor Artist, Winter 2025 issue, in an article about abstraction. Karen has 2 videos, produced by Creative Catalyst that were recently released. My artwork was featured on gift bags produced by Garven, Inc. They were sold in retails stores such as Target and Walmart.
If you have questions, or need more information, please email me at karen@karenknutson.com, or call me at
(612-940-9231)
