Karl's creative side began to show at an early age, with a propensity for sketching, painting and making models. He recalls going to see films, then coming home and recreating the scenes from the movie in a drawing. Typical drawings consisted of battlescenes - including aeroplanes, ships and cannons. He enjoyed making plasticine models based on "Gulliver's Travels" and frequently fashioned toys out of scrap materials, which then featured in play times with his brother and sister. When he was about 10 years old, he won a trip for two to Christchurch, as a prize for his artistic ability in creating make-believe implements. In later school years, Karl's art was influenced by a number of artists featuring in textbooks; particularly Braque, Picasso, Ivan Hitchings, Henry Moore - for contour lines - Turner, Constable and still later on, Colin McCahon and Toss Woolaston. Karl graduated from Auckland University's Elam School of Fine Art with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in his early 20's. Leading into the next 20 years or so, Karl often painted stylized landscapes. He still enjoys doing those, but has also done a number of murals, abstract works of art, and naturalistic paintings of the Fiordland area. His work tends to have a romantic tone, and he particularly enjoys playing with the effect of light eg. beams of light sifting through misty clouds.  Karl usually paints on jute, hessian, canvas or board. He often mixes varnishes with oil paint, as it has a quick-drying effect. He especially likes "scumbling" - dragging one colour over the top of another so that the top colour is laid in small amounts over the bottom colour. Some of Karl's work was exhibited in March/April 2003 at the Maritime Museum in Auckland City, which included a number of paintings inspired by the America's Cup. A few of his more recent works depicting the Fiordland area were displayed in Te Anau at the annual 2004 Fiordland Arts Society exhibition. His art is also viewable in his private gallery at home, by appointment. |
| FIORDLAND NZ | | | LANDSCAPES | | | SEASCAPES | | | STILL LIFES | | | MILITARY |
| ABOUT THE ARTIST | | | INTRO | | | ORDERING INFORMATION | | | LINKS |
 |
 |