Today we’d like to introduce you to Karmen Hart.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My journey as an artist has unfolded gradually and intentionally. While creativity has always been part of my life, I returned fully to painting later, allowing it to become not just an outlet, but a serious and deeply personal practice. From the beginning, I was drawn to abstraction and mixed media, using layers, texture, and intuitive mark-making to explore emotion, balance, and transformation.
As I began sharing my work publicly, important milestones followed. I participated in juried and non-juried exhibitions throughout the Carolina region and became actively involved in my local arts community. My work has been shown in galleries including Franklin Gallery in Southport and Sunset River Gallery, and I participated in the Carolina Art Show. One of my most affirming moments came when my painting Balancing Act received Best in Show at the Brunswick Art Council exhibition.
In 2025, my work continued to gain visibility through gallery acceptances and publication. I was accepted into a group show at Sunset River Gallery with my painting Petals in the Wind, and my work was featured in ArtistCloseUp Magazine. I also serve on the board of the Art League of Leland, where I actively support and advocate for local artists.
Today, my practice continues to evolve through ongoing exhibitions, gallery placements, and curated series that reflect both personal experience and universal emotional themes. Each milestone has reinforced my belief that it’s never too late to claim your creative voice, and that growth as an artist is as much about trust and persistence as it is about recognition.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As an abstract artist with over 15 years of experience,
specializing in acrylic mixed media as a form of emotional
expression and healing. My journey with art has always been
deeply personal, but it became something transformative when I
began struggling with anxiety.
Anxiety is invisible, but it’s loud. It can steal your focus, your
calm, your sense of safety. Abstract painting gave me a way to
express my emotion and turn inner chaos into color and flow.
Each painting is a meditation. A moment to breathe, letting go
of perfection, and being present in the color and emotion. My
process is not about controlling the outcome, it’s about honoring
the messiness we all strive to control, when all we need to do is
let go, and the beauty will shine through when we stop fighting
ourselves.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My work carries the imprint of my lived experience. I am an abstract and mixed-media artist, and every painting begins not with an idea of beauty, but with a need to release what’s inside me. I live with anxiety, and the canvas is where that energy transforms into something tangible — a mark, a color, a gesture. Painting is both my process and my language, a way of translating internal emotion into something visible and physical.
Though I am inspired by the masters and their fearless approaches to abstraction, my process is entirely my own. I work intuitively and often quickly, layering, scraping, building, and breaking down surfaces as instinct guides my hand. Texture plays a central role in my work; the surfaces hold history. The imperfections are not accidents — they are intentional evidence of my story. They capture the restless energy I carry, but also the moments of clarity and light that emerge when I refuse to let anxiety silence me.
I am known for creating work that feels emotionally charged yet balanced — pieces that hold tension and softness at the same time. My paintings often explore themes of resilience, inner conflict, and transformation, inviting viewers to connect with their own emotional landscapes rather than searching for a single interpretation. No two works can ever be repeated, because no two days, no two moments of my inner life are the same.
What sets my work apart is this transformation of struggle into expression — of private emotion into a visual language that others can feel, even if they can’t name it. My art is not about recreating what has been done before; it is about honesty. It is about allowing the raw, unfiltered truth of my experience to exist on the canvas without apology.
What I am most proud of is that my work resonates. Viewers often tell me they feel something before they understand it, and that connection is everything to me. Each painting becomes a record of both chaos and hope, a testament to survival, presence, and the courage it takes to be seen. In that way, my work is unmistakably mine — shaped by marks only I could make, and stories only I could tell.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
While my work is deeply personal and often created in solitude, I haven’t reached this point alone. I’ve been shaped and supported by a combination of mentors, peers, and a creative community that has encouraged me to keep moving forward especially during moments of doubt.
One person who deserves special recognition is Erika Pifher, a wonderful friend and mentor who has helped guide me with generosity and insight. Her encouragement, perspective, and belief in my work came at pivotal moments, reminding me to trust my instincts and stay committed to my voice. Having someone who both understands the creative process and truly sees your work can make all the difference, and I’m deeply grateful for her presence in my journey.
I’m also thankful for the broader local arts community and the organizations I’m involved with, including my role on the board of the Art League of Leland. These connections have provided support, feedback, and a sense of belonging that reinforces the importance of community in an otherwise solitary practice.
I’m grateful as well to the galleries, curators, and collectors who have taken a chance on my work through exhibitions, publications, and placements in homes and businesses. Their trust has validated the risk of making honest, emotionally driven art.
Finally, I owe deep gratitude to my family and close supporters whose steady encouragement has given me the space to grow into this chapter of my life. Their belief reminded me that it’s never too late to begin, and that creating from a place of authenticity is always worth it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.artwithhartstudio.com/portfolio-collections/my-portfolio/vibrant-earthiness
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artwithhartstudio?igsh=MWs2MWZjYmgxb2gyYg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
