Karen Jacobs’ evocative works speak a universal language.

By Charlotte Berney

Karen Jacobs knows that memory doesn’t always come in a straight line. It comes in snatches of color and sound, and remnants of feeling, and it comes in layers. Re-creating the passage of time, Jacobs lays down layers on her canvases for the viewer, as archaeologist, to discover. 

“I paint energy and essence,” says Jacobs, “and my work is about time. I’ve found a lot of beauty in age, a patina that comes with the passing of time. I love weathered surfaces.” 

Karen Jacobs’ paintings speak to the viewer in the manner of old walls, paving stones meandering through a ruin, and dreams. 

The artist creates her dynamic works in acrylics and mixed media on canvas, and they exhibit both bold and subtle qualities. From a distance, broad bands of color, often reds and yellows and other earth tones, make a strong statement. Closer up, the viewer finds textures and markings that continue to engage the eye. Jacobs’ works beckon the viewer into a more and more intimate relationship, inviting reveries. 

“I think of abstract painting as music without words,” Jacobs says. You respond to music emotionally and you don’t need words, just as you don’t need specific images in painting.” 
Jacobs’ current style of painting is the mature expression of a long process of evolution in her art. She began by painting elements of nature, such as grasses, palms and flowers, in a detailed manner. She has worked in various media throughout her career, including years of work in watercolor, oils, and serigraphy. 

“Even then,” she says, “my backgrounds were textural and non-objective. In my approach to composition, I’ve always painted abstractly.” She considers her years in art “a journey I went through to get to where I am today, a natural flow from detailed realism to non-representational work. Right now, I feel most at home with the abstract image.” 

The dynamic quality of Karen Jacobs’ work is mirrored in her personal life. Born in Florida, she grew up in Fort Lauderdale, and has called a variety of places home. Having married an Air Force officer, she moved often. 

Jacobs pursued music in school, and her art career began with a series of art classes she took during a bout of “cabin fever” in Montana. In Washington, D.C., she discovered contemporary art at the great museums there and studied at the Maryland College of Art and Design. She began seeking out the very best art instructors. While she nurtured her career, she also raised three children. 

Karen Jacobs developed into a professional artist, winning over forty awards for her art, including the National Galleries Endowment Award, and exhibiting nationally and internationally. Her art is prominently featured in an upcoming movie, The Next Big Thing, produced in New York City, about an artist who makes it to the big time art scene after some of his paintings are stolen. 
 

“I didn’t realize my work was influenced by the French Quarter, and in fact, I didn’t go there a lot,” she says of her time in New Orleans. “While showing visitors around one day, I realized I had incorporated the feel of it into my work.” She believes “We often aren’t aware of what influences us, and it may come to us years later.” 

Karen Jacobs comments that her work is “landscape oriented.” For example, her Street Market series reflects a visit to China and the outdoor markets she saw there. “In the markets, there were quiet areas and busy, colorful areas, and this came through in my paintings.” 

How does she achieve such a rich surface with so many levels of complexity? Jacobs says, “Texture is important to me. I build up layers and I create grooved surfaces in the paint, letting the earlier colors show through. I lay down both thick and thin layers.” 

She prefers acrylics as a medium because they dry so quickly. “I’m a spontaneous, intuitive person,” she reflects. “I generally don’t plan. I feel that I direct the painting until it begins to direct me. I listen to the painting, and it tells me what needs to be done.” 

In regards to her color, she says she frequently finds herself using red as a neutral color, and comments about this, “I don’t think of red as a color but rather as an object.” Her reds are layered and often shade into pink, wine, and orange in the same painting. 

Geometric elements like lines and bands create an interesting contrast to the amorphous quality of paint, bringing structure to the works. “I like straight lines and intersecting lines,” Jacobs says. “You should see my garden beds—they’re all laid out geometrically!” 

Jacobs’ work has a feeling of the Southwest’s earthy beauty, its ancient ruins and wide expanses of land and sky. She has visited the Southwest on several occasions and finds the region inspirational. 
Life continues to provide new growth for Jacobs. A self-described loner who enjoys solitude, the artist also likes the excitement of moving forward into the new, not knowing what may emerge as inspiration. 

Jacobs has ventured into a new medium with her work in encaustics, which means “burning in” and employs beeswax as a paint binder. “It’s an ancient process going back to 5th century B.C. that’s being rediscovered. I find the textural effects in encaustics just can’t be achieved in any other medium.” She adds, “Each medium gives the artist something different. Why attempt to translate one to the other when each medium has unique properties to offer?” 

However her painting evolves in the future, collectors can be certain Karen Jacobs will produce unique works that speak to us in a compelling language of color, line, and texture—dynamically. 

Karen Jacobs’ works are on view at Waxlander Gallery, located at 622 Canyon Road. Hours: 9:30-5;30 daily. (505) 984-2202 or 1-800-342-2202