Other Interests

Visual Artist - Traditional and Digital

About Me (Artist) https://kelizc.art kc@kelizc.art

As an educator and advocate for lifelong learning, I am passionate about fostering social change through art and education. My artistic journey spans a lifetime, beginning with childhood sketches and cartoons for classmates, evolving into a dedicated practice with soft pastels, pen and ink, and colored pencils on archival-quality surfaces like PastelMat. I also embrace modern technology, creating digital works with Wacom display panels and digital pens. My art focuses on capturing the essence of animals (wildlife, domestic pets, and equine subjects), landscapes, and architectural scenes such as courtyards and homes.

Artistic Background

Art has been a constant in my life, from early doodles to a formal Certificate in Illustration in my young adult life from the well known 'Draw Me' Art Instruction Schools in Minneapolis. This correspondence course provided a strong foundation in shapes, values, and colors, honing my drawing skills. Alongside my artistic pursuits, I hold a BSBA in Finance/Math, an MA in Education (Curriculum and Instruction), and a PhD in Education. These academic achievements inform my creative and teaching practices, blending discipline with imagination.

Professional Development and Community

I am committed to continuous growth, actively participating in professional artist workshops and academies across the United States and the United Kingdom. As a member of Cultivate, an alumni group of the PicardStudio.com program, I refine my discipline and professionalism under the guidance of Alain Picard’s pastel-focused courses. I am also an active member of the Pastel Society of Southern California, Pastel Society of the West Coast, Bakersfield Museum of Art, Bakersfield Art Association, and CSUB Alumni and 60+ Clubs. These connections fuel my inspiration and strengthen my ties to the art community.

My Artistic Process

With a deep appreciation for colors and shapes, I’ve explored diverse mediums—pastels, acrylics, oils, inks, graphite pencils, and sculpting clay—ultimately gravitating toward soft pastels, pen and ink, and colored pencils. My work celebrates the beauty of the natural world, serene and glowing landscapes, and architectural elegance, often rendered with precision and vibrancy. By integrating traditional techniques with cutting-edge tools, I create pieces that resonate with both heart and craft.

Thank you for visiting my page! Explore my portfolio to see my latest works, and feel free to connect about art, education, or collaboration opportunities.

Wildlife and Animal Portfolio - Traditional (soft pastel, ink, colored pencil) and Digital

Website: https://kelizc.art email: kc@kelizc.art

In the paintings below, I painted my subject using a digital pen by referring to subject reference photograph{s} and capturing the essence of the subject(s) into a digital painting. I then merged the painting into uploaded photographs (scenery and background) using my digital art skills. This mix of techniques realistically captured my best memories of place(s) and time(s). There is a story behind every painting which I briefly tell below.

icedog Copyright © 2025 KarenConger.net All Rights Reserved

This sweet family dog loved the winter cold and didn't want to come inside so look closely and you will see I created him as an 'ice dog' painting standing beside 'himself' in a photo with the red leash.

The winter landscape was cropped from a royalty free image I found online.

I used two photographs for the dog. One photograph was the dog in the red leash and it was imported into the canvas. The ice dog was my digital painting from a reference photograph and it was merged into the photograph, becoming part of the scene!

Personality always matters - for all living things! And Roake was captured as we all remembered him in cold weather. That heavy fur kept him warm and he loved it!

Five personal photographs were used to create this mountain scene with our three Tennessee Walking horses. The result is much prettier than the reference photos were as individual scenes and settings. I painted highlights and lowlights into the horses; and blended the ground into the horizon and sunset as needed to create the new landscape. The corral fence was erased! It is the image in my mind when I think about our time there - I never noticed the fence when that sunset popped through!

Again, personality is the key. One of our Tennessee Walking horses loved to eat and in this picture, I gave her some grass! The other two Walkers shared alpha and beta personalities as required to protect the herd. No corrals, no fences. Just mountains in the distance and the beautiful fog covering the valley. And our alpha/beta pair ever watchful. Ever beautiful!

Three of my personal photographs were merged to create a new setting and scene. I added extra mist and fog, major highlights and lowlights on our horses, and cropped the photos as needed to get the correct proportions. The magic was creating another unique scene that provides my best memories of our space and horses. The mountain, the fog, the sunrise - that was one photo and it needed touching up and some artistic work. The photo of the horses standing together watching me was from another side of the house in front of their run-ins - they always looked to see who was coming out our door! And the snow-covered blue spruce trees were on another side of the house with the wet mountain snow adorning their needles - so beautiful. Combining the three photos provided the perfect winter scene in my mind as I walked from one side of the house to another. That is what I saw when I looked out - it didn't take long to navigate the three sides of the house! And now it is captured as my mind put it together when I did the 'walk'.

My digital painting of 'boy' and 'dog' from my reference photograph is combined with my photograph of 'man', 'boy' and 'dog' on a mountain horse trail. The boy and dog painting is intentionally out of scale to emphasize it. (The 'stars' on the faces on the 'man' and 'boy' faces are inserted for public privacy display purposes only.)

The dog in the foreground is my digital painting from a reference photograph. The background is a combination of two cropped and merged photographs. The dog in the background was cropped from another of my photographs; the park photo is cropped from a royalty-free online site photograph.

Thank you for visiting my page! Explore my portfolio at https://kelizc.art to see my latest works, and feel free to connect with me about art, education, or collaboration opportunities. My email is kc@kelizc.art.

Art Inquiries: Website: https://kelizc.art email: kc@kelizc.art