About Don and Karen
Don and Kären Cornelius live in Petersburg on an island close to the middle of southeast Alaska's Tongass National Forest. They find inspiration in traveling through Alaska from arctic tundra to alpine ridges to coastal old growth forests, on to the Canadian Rockies and further on to deserts and beaches of the western US and beyond.
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A youthful Don filled his school notebooks with drawings of flying ducks (he relished days in a duck blind with his dad). Then one day his father took him to the Abercrombie and Fitch department store in New York City. There, stepping off the elevator on the 4th floor, they found themselves surrounded by life-sized paintings of ducks, geese, grouse, and other wildlife that felt more real than the actual experience of seeing them. The awe Don felt that day awakened him to a power of art that forever shaped his life.
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Now, Don mostly paints in alkyds (fast-drying oils). At the tender age of 84 he's still hasn't decided on his signature style, so he enjoys switching things around. Subjects vary from scenic vistas to close-up studies, wildlife to portraits. And to shake up motifs, he likes to play with goofy gnomes and abstract themes in unconventional works.
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Kären has drawn and painted since her Wisconsin childhood. Her professional career began when teaching in elementary school classrooms where those same talents changed boring blackboards that greeted students daily in Wisconsin, Germany, and Alaska, into exciting new visual inspirations. Perhaps some of those students found their Abercrombie and Fitch moments in Kären's classrooms.
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Today Kären paints in watercolors and has more recently added acrylics to her repertoire. Flowers and animals, both wild and domestic, details of feathers and stones, mountain vistas, icebergs following ocean currents, and not-so-well-behaved puppies all lend flavor to her creations. And for icing on the cake, those same kinds of creatures that her students looked forward to seeing each day still find their way into Kären's whimsical creations.
We hope you enjoy our website. If you see any artwork of interest, would like to see more... or are interested in learning about any painting, please contact us.
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For even more about our us and more, visit our blog:
Alaska and Beyond through Artist's Eyes
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Kären paints Iowa
