Kara Beckett, Visual Artist

Kara Beckett is an emerging Canadian figurative and portrait artist who paints flat work in the soft pastel and watersoluble oil mediums.  

Born in October,1971, Kara was encouraged to express herself in art and music from an early age.  Drawing became a very natural way to convey her visual experiences; a language without words, sketching what she saw around her became part of her everyday life.

As a young adult, she pursued a career in Interior Design, a profession of which requires drawing and visualization abilities with the dedication to designing for people.  After six years of formal education, she worked as an Interior Designer within Architectural & Interior Design firms.  For over seven years, she designed commercial spaces specializing in retail, corporate, and hospitality.  Educated and working full-time as an Interior Designer, she began part-time studies in 2001 towards a degree in Fine Art at the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary.  However, much to her surprise, she and her husband were expecting their first child and her studies needed to be set aside upon completion of her first semester.  Upon maternity leave from her Interior Design career, Kara began to spend her 'extra' time on pursuing her love for the visual arts.  She has decided to remain a stay-at-home mother of three girls, with the support of her husband, while developing a full-time career as a visual artist.

Exploring different painting media, Kara found soft pastel and watersoluble oil paint to be her media of choice.  Painting allowed her to express herself through her own interpretation of life and understanding of colour, line, form, texture, balance, composition, scale & proportion, and light & shade; elements of design that are common both to Interior Design and to the Fine Arts.  Bold, energetic and interpretive, her paintings exude warmth and vitality.  Whether capturing a likeness or identifying an emotion, each painting engages the viewer in the experience of the moment.  "I find her work has real soul. The people feel like they are real people. I could do a lot of great stuff with this."...Steve, cd jacket/graphic designer for Frank MacKay, recording artist from Halifax, Canada.

With a passion for both art and music, Kara dedicated her talent to painting several musicians of whom performed at the Cochrane Valley Folk Club in Cochrane, Alberta from 2004 through 2006 in exchange for a space to exhibit her work while supporting a Fine Arts not-for-profit organization.  Continuing to expand her portfolio, Kara is working in the watersoluble oil medium focusing on works of children, horses, and musicians.

Please take a moment to browse through her online galleries. 

Thank you for visiting!