About Me

I’m a fine art oil and watercolor painter drawn to the way light transforms ordinary places into something memorable. Most of my work is rooted in the landscapes and architecture of Chester County, Pennsylvania, and the New Jersey Shore, especially Cape May, where I’m a part-time resident and find endless inspiration in the dunes, marshes, and changing skies. My travels have also deeply influenced my perspective, inspiring a growing collection of European landscapes and scenes from places that have captured my imagination abroad.

I mostly work in my studio from my own reference photos and also enjoy plain air workshops and excursions. Whether it’s a barn tucked into rolling fields, a weathered shore house, a quiet path, or a stormy ocean horizon, I’m always chasing strong composition, luminous color, and interesting shadows. Old barns, textured walls, stormy skies, exaggerated shadows on sand or grass – those small visual rhythms are what pull me in and keep me at the easel. Painting is very grounding for me; when I’m in the middle of a piece, everything narrows down to the brush, the paint, and the moment in front of me.

I’ve been painting in oils for over a decade and have recently added watercolor to my repertoire, studying with several accomplished instructors at Wayne Art Center and continually learning from the artists around me. My work has been accepted into many juried exhibitions, including shows at Wayne Art Center, Malvern Retreat House, Historic Yellow Springs, Seagrove Art Cooperative, Ocean City Art League, Phoenixville Art Festival, Wildwood Crest Arts Pavilion and others, and has been featured in PXV Art Magazine, Cape May Magazine, and regional galleries such as Kingsway Art Gallery, Jessie Creek Winery’s Gallery and and Art on Bridge Gallery in Phoenixville. I’m an active member of The Artists Circle, Chester County Art Association, Wayne Art Center, The Artists Guild of Cape May, Active Board Member of Artists Circle, and West End Garage in Cape May.

Alongside original paintings, I also offer limited-edition giclée prints, note cards, and smaller gift-sized originals, and I’ve had the joy of creating commissioned pieces that capture places and memories that matter deeply to my collectors. You can find my work at regional shows, local festivals, galleries, and open-studio events throughout the year, or follow along on Instagram @karencalastriart to see what’s currently on the easel.