Please introduce yourself.
Hello, my name is Karen Dukes, and I am a glass mixed media artist.
Tell us about your favorite art medium.
I started painting in 2007 and did very well with my paintings – mostly acrylic, but some oil. I started playing with a new form of art called Flow Art about 10 years ago and found that it is a very challenging art form. In 2023 I purchased a glass kiln and started doing fused glass mixed with other mediums such as brushed stainless steel, flow art, resin, crystals, most anything that my imagination went. I love the creativity that I am able to use in this current form of art that I am creating.
Who/what is your biggest artistic influences?
One of my biggest influences in my paintings years ago with Steve Memering, a very famous artist in the Sacramento area and became friends with many of the Artist and Sacramento. I would say my biggest artistic influence right now is Daniel Winn of the Winn Slavin Gallery in Beverly Hills. With him as my mentor, he has encouraged my growth and creativity in the fuse glass world to heights that I never imagined. I am now in the gallery in Beverly Hills as one of the artists.
What motivates you to create?
I feel creating art in life is something that is born within you. Freedom to create from the natural beauty around us is a way we interact with the world, and it reveals who we are.
When is your favorite time of day to create?
I tend to create after I have my cup of coffee in the morning and on until about noon until maybe 2 pm.
Does art help you in other areas of your life?
Art helps me in the social part of my life. I’ve always owned my own business and so I have not had the opportunity to create long personal relationships in my business areas. Now that I am retired, my art gives me a great opportunity to expand my social circles and keep me engaged in life.
