KAREN SANTRY — Painting, Drawing, Illustration

Education:
BS Studio Art Skidmore College, MFA Painting University Pennsylvania

THE HABITAT GIRL (A Master of understatement) Karen Santry is a Manhattan based contemporary fine arts painter, fashion illustrator and Associate Professor of Art at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Born in Frankfurt, Germany am Main of American parents. Having grown up partially in Holland and New Canaan, Connecticut, her love of the Dutch masters Rembrandt and Vermeer resulted in her lifetime passion: painting of the figure in costume with dramatic lighting.

CURRENT

Her current work involves life size oil paintings of Japanese Kabuki actors on rosewood cutouts that function as larger than life-size installations. She recently received permission from the Japanese Government to paint the Kabuki in this highly realistic style as the Kabuki subject matter is considered one of the countrys national treasures. Karen left teaching in the Art Department at Yale to glean greater visual access to the Haute-Couture extreme evening-ware seen on the runways of fashion week in Manhattan and to be closer to the painting scene. She with Artist Janis Salek are the only two artists who are given permission to draw annually the people and runway models during fashion week for Fern Mallis and are sponsored by Mercedes- Benz.