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Amy Jo Karn lives in Oakland with her husband and her two beloved dogs. A native of New Mexico, she has been influenced by the bold and expressive art of Santa Fe, as well as by the Expressionist and Fauvist painters of the late 19th century.
As a college student, Amy Jo studied Humanities and French in Boulder, Colorado, and continued on to earn a master's degree in History of Art from Northwestern University. Her shift from the study of Art History to art-making was a natural and liberating move. Her education in the History of Art enhances and inspires her artwork. As a painter, she is largely self-taught.
She has a constant waiting list for custom pet portraits and has shown her work in cafes and galleries throughout the Bay Area. She was recently nominated for an Oakland Indie Award, which celebrates independent, community-oriented artists and businesses.
Amy Jo paints with fluid acrylics on cradled Hardbord. This unyielding surface creates a smooth, substantial background for the whimsical subjects. Her style has been best described as "expressive," "folk-like," and "imaginative."
Her two favorite subjects are animals and women, for their expressive qualities. She uses bold color combinations and expressive lines to create highly emotive paintings.
A hopeless animal-lover, Amy is constantly charmed by the idiosyncratic behaviors of dogs and cats. She loves depicting their personalities and how they relate to their surroundings. In her portraits, the pets engage the viewer directly, creating a personal relationship as a pet does with its owner. Her portraits are adoring, and offer a stylized, playful look at the presence of pets in our homes and our daily lives.
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