Karen Stetson DeFelix named Artist of the Month
From Special Reports
The Newnan-Coweta Art Association (NCAA) selected Karen Stetson DeFelix as its featured “Artist of the Month” for December.
Ms. DeFelix’s art will be featured in the entryway to Newnan City Hall for the month of December. Two paintings in the exhibit are of cardinals. She selected them because “cardinals add a spot of bright red color to winter.” The other three paintings will be of turtles which she says she likes to paint “because they seem to have different personalities, they are fun and they are colorful.”
DeFelix started out creating in stain glass over 30 years ago. After seeing a Tiffany exhibit in Florida she developed a longing to learn how to manipulate the glass so that she was not solely dependent on what she could purchase from manufactures. She took many fused glass classes and is still excited when she sees glass “melt.” It was during one of these classes that she asked the demonstrator how he came up with his creative ideas. He told her about Betty Edwards’ book “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.” The book changed her life. She went from drawing “bad stick figures” to drawing her own self portrait. From there it was only a small leap to watercolor pencils and then watercolor painting. Although glass and watercolor are her favorite mediums she also works in acrylic and mixed mediums. One of her new joys is playing with acrylic pours and beyond the pours.
Karen moved from Florida to Georgia 12 years ago and enjoys Georgia’s four seasons. She especially appreciates the blooming trees in the spring and aptly named her painting of her cherry tree in bloom – “Spring: Why I Love Georgia.”
Karen is former member of the Florida Watercolor Association and the Clayton County Art Association – Arts Clayton and is a member of the Newnan-Coweta Art Association (NCAA). She has had many paintings and four of her glass sculptures juried into the NCAA juried show at the Center for Performing and Visual Arts. One glass sculpture was in the “Top Ten.” Her paintings have also been in shows in Clearwater and Sarasota Florida and are in private collections up and down the east coast. She gives group classes in multiple crafts and fine arts at the Gathering in Peachtree City and at an active retirement community.
Ms. DeFelix enjoys painting a wide variety of subjects. She says “I like to paint flowers because they bring joy. I had a gentleman once who bought my painting of a double Bird of Paradise (“Hawaiian Eye”) because it had been his mother’s favorite flower. I like to paint old buildings especially barns because they have a history and there is a beauty in them. I also like painting animals. And sometimes I just paint something that catches my eye like a spider in a web or a beautiful bowl of vegetables.”
NCAA’s general meetings are held the third Monday of each month (from August through May) at the Harriet Alexander Art Center on Hospital Road at 7 p.m. Along with the meeting there is an art demonstration. Visitors and new members are always welcome.
