Local Artist Karen Boone
Sustainable visionary are the words that come to mind when hearing artist Karen Boone talk about her life and art. Her commitment to ethical practices is evident as she focuses on art representing the natural world.
“In my artistic practice I use less toxic materials like foraged ochres from my property, creek clay and charred wood, a reciprocal approach to sharing nature and wilderness,” Boone says in a small part of her artist statement.
A vegetarian since her 20s, Boone forages for her own pigments, which she then mixes with walnut oil to make paint. She stays away from brushes, as most good ones are made with animal products. And her artwork itself is gentle to the planet — her most recent sculpture involved recycled cardboard and scrap metal from her husband Rick Runyon’s shop.
It’s “my way of being kind to the earth and also giving back something of beauty,” she said.
Boone said harvesting yellow and red ochre for her pigments feels particularly powerful. “The earliest evidence of humans using ochre, dating back around 300,000 years, comes from the Paleolithic era, with ochre found at sites in Africa and later by Neanderthals in Europe,” she said. “So, I love that connection, that historical connection of ancestors.”
She finds much of her pigment on her and her husband’s 10-acre property but also on her many travels. Having spent much of her life in Louisville, she has done stints in Switzerland, Tokyo, Amsterdam, New York and San Francisco.
She finds much of her pigment on her and her husband’s 10-acre property but also on her many travels. Having spent much of her life in Louisville, she has done stints in Switzerland, Tokyo, Amsterdam, New York and San Francisco.
Boone was recently awarded the Great Meadows Foundation Grant and will be traveling to Helsinki, Finland, to network and represent her fine art work. But Boone actually got her start in the art world in graphic design. Dan Boyarski, a professor at the University of Louisville, had been at the Basel School of Design she ended up attending.
“He was very important to my development in terms of thinking of graphic design as an art form,” she said. “I never felt like graphic design was a business; for me, it was definitely about composition and color.”
Boone has achieved much success with graphic design, running her own business and designing several Kentucky Derby Festival posters, St. James Art Show posters, and other art for local events and clients.
After traveling, working in graphic design, and then raising her son, she decided to pursue what had long been in the back of her mind, starting shortly after 2015.
“I like working with my hands. … And I thought, I’m going to give myself the chance to finally pursue this.”
“I like working with my hands. … And I thought, I’m going to give myself the chance to finally pursue this.”
While still having her hand in the graphic design world, she said fine art is the hardest thing she has ever done. “You’re pouring it out of nowhere in order for it to be ultimately your very soul coming out, and that’s hard. That’s really hard.”
She said it’s also an interesting business model. “You make art, and then you hope you sell it. That goes against me as a businesswoman — it doesn’t make sense, but it makes sense now.”
Boone has already had two solo shows spotlighting her work at Mount Saint Francis.
“They believed in me even though I’m just starting out,” she said.
She’s also had pieces featured at Chestnuts and Pearls in New Albany.
Most recently, she traveled to California for a show spotlighting artists who depicted Yosemite or the Sierras. Boone’s sculpture “Lodgepole Pines” represented a type of pine that grows at very high elevation and is very strong and enduring.
Most recently, she traveled to California for a show spotlighting artists who depicted Yosemite or the Sierras. Boone’s sculpture “Lodgepole Pines” represented a type of pine that grows at very high elevation and is very strong and enduring.
“It’s kind of a tree that just has to actually survive, and it’s a little metaphor for my life,” Boone said.
Seven hundred artists submitted art to the show internationally. It will remain open for two months, and then the work will continue to travel for the rest of the year while also being available for purchase.
“A lot of people in California get to see it, and it’s really hard to get that opportunity if you’re not local,” Boone said.
While in California, Boone and her husband were able to explore the area through backpacking — one of her hobbies that directly influences her artwork.
They’re not amateur backpackers. Their trip to Yosemite, Death Valley and Pinnacles had 17-mile days, high elevation, snow, ice and extreme heat.
“A friend introduced us, and we were literally communicating while he was doing a four-month backpacking trip,” Boone said.
While backpacking, they resupply about every week, where they send a box ahead to a post office and rely on dehydrated food and keeping their packs light. Boone even saws her watercolor pencils in half to keep ounces low.
“A lot of my pieces are called ‘Above the Treeline’ or have a reference to a national park or they just look like dirt. That’s what we’re used to doing — rock and dirt.”
– Karen Boone
“A lot of my pieces are called ‘Above the Treeline’ or have a reference to a national park or they just look like dirt. That’s what we’re used to doing — rock and dirt,” she said.
Runyon is also creative with his machinery business, as Boone calls him an “inventor,” creating custom machinery for clients. Boone and Runyon recently submitted an art proposal together, combining both of their areas of expertise.
Runyon has a shop on their property, and Boone built her light-filled studio in 2020 overlooking their pond.
Boone’s travel to Finland for the Great Meadows Foundation Grant is only a small sign of things to come, as she has already achieved so much in her short time as a fine artist. “It’s Northern Europe where they kind of push for that green energy. A lot of the artists there are very much about protection of the Earth and how we respond to nature,” she said. “I will feel very much among my peers, but I’ll also meet curators from all over the world at this.”
She is looking to have her art in local museums as well, and an opportunity is potentially coming soon.
“This is not a hobby for me; this is literally air. I have to do this before my time on this Earth is up.” •
Story by Darian Decker
Photos by Michelle Hockman
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