Karen Nichols

Location:
380 N. Wynoochee Dr. SW
360-660-2125
karen@oceanshoresart.com

 

 Karen is a prolific artist and writer who celebrates coastal life and the natural world in her work, but also like to occasionally engage in a bit of fun and fantasy. She works in various media including mosaics (her favorite), mixed media, photography, monoprints, watercolor, and acrylic. She also produces animated videos, and stop-motion animation shorts.
 

A recent transplant from the San Francisco Bay area to Ocean Shores, Karen earned a B.A. in English and Art History (double major) from Santa Clara University, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Stanford. She has exhibited in galleries from New York City to San Diego, and her work has been featured in magazines internationally. One piece is part of the permanent collection at the Federal Building in San Francisco. Awards have included the Karen Kuykendall medal from the National Cat Writers Association for outstanding achievement in visual art.
 

Karen has always felt a strong connection to the sea, and after her husband passed away, she began looking at relocating to Washington state. She considered Sequim, but lots of internet searches finally yielded a place in Ocean Shores. “I'd never even visited Ocean Shores before,” she explains on her website, oceanshoresart.com. “But with Mr. Google's help, I was able to visualize it and learn everything I needed to know.” 
 

She adds, “As a wildlife enthusiast, birder, and amateur astronomer, I relish the rural PNW life after too many years working in high tech and spending hours commuting each day. Ocean Shores has several wildlife habitats. One of the very best things about this little town is its prodigious deer population. They are tame and there are hundreds of them. One of mine--Donna--comes up onto my enclosed deck to stand outside the slider to my bedroom and stomp to get my attention. They feed my soul. I feed them honeycrisps.”
 

Karen noted that, “It may seem like I flit around in different media without taking the time to master one, but there's a reason....last year I had unsuccessful hand surgery that left me with limited mobility in my dominant hand, and severe hypocalcemia can render the hand immobile. Expecting that the situation will deteriorate over time, I've been exploring ways to be artful that require less work from my hand.”

In addition to depicting the flora and fauna of our area, she also loves cats. In fact, she has another website, crazycatladyart.com, which is devoted to her cat-related art, including some whimsical pieces and videos. She also created and publishes an online magazine, “Mousebreath Magazine.”

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