Karen Blair lives in Charlottesville, Virginia where the surrounding mountains provide daily inspiration for her work. Her own garden and those of friends inspire the flowers and trees also prevalent in the paintings and collages. There is constant tension between depicting the natural world and finding the essence of things through abstraction. Blair is known for her joyous use of color and for exuberant mark-making. She shares her life with her husband Jimmy Jackson and a Brittany named Remi.