Bio

Over the last four decades, Karen Holloway has studied closely with nationally renowned painters such as Robert Seufert and John Ennis, and in various fine art programs in Rome and Florence, Italy.

Although her early work was focused primarily in oils, Ms. Holloway abruptly transitioned from a realist to an expressionist artist after experiencing a deep trauma in her personal life in 2019. “Suddenly, I no longer cared about trying to capture the world as others saw it,” said Ms. Holloway. “I now felt compelled to turn inward and to paint what I felt and thought. I finally had something to say.”

Encaustics provided an excellent medium for this new and prolific period of exploration and creativity.

Her new medium presented itself innocuously when she found a box of her daughter’s old broken crayons. “The scent of the wax and the richness of the colors brought me back to my childhood where I was safe and connected to my true self.” Soon she was experimenting with different kinds of wax, landing on a mixture of damar resin, filtered beeswax, and crayons. “I had never worked in encaustics, so everything was possible and nothing was ‘wrong.’”

In 2026, Ms. Holloway began reviewing old photographs she had taken, in particular those focused on macrophotography. “I find the small hidden elements of this world more fascinating than large scale subjects,” said Ms. Holloway, “in part because what I’m seeing is likely hidden to others. So to be able to pull back the curtain a little bit, to be able to help someone see the world in a new way, is very gratifying for me.” She is now exhibiting these works as well.

Karen lives in Wallingford, Delaware County, Pennsylvania with her best friend and husband, Don, and her three dogs, Meatball, Nacho, and Cheddar. When the dogs aren’t chasing down sketchy neighborhood squirrels, they can be found laying around her studio as she works.

You can see Ms. Holloway’s earliest works in The Oil Collection and her current works are in The Broken Crayon Collection and The Photography Collection . You can learn more about these collections in her Artist Statement.

Ms. Holloway can be reached at karen@hollowayarts.com.