Karen Bateman's paintings reflect her love of the outdoors, especially the quiet places near her home in northern Virginia. She typically paints outdoors, directly from nature in the alla prima style; completing her oil paintings in one sitting, which allows her to capture the immediate feeling of a place.

After enrolling in an outdoor painting course in 2007, Karen is largely self-taught. Her first one-woman show was at a Virginia winery in 2008. She was later approached by a New York gallery where eight of her paintings were displayed in a group show. Her work has since appeared in numerous art shows. She enjoys participating in plein air painting competitions and the local Great Falls Art Studios tour.

A dedicated painter, Karen makes time to paint regularly, often near dawn, which provides lovely morning light. The banks of the Potomac, the Virginia wine country and the foothills of the Blue Ridge are among her favorite places to paint, as well as anywhere along the coast. Painting the landscapes of New England always brings back fond memories of growing up along the Massachusetts shore.