KAREN S. MAKOFF, PhD
I have been an artist far longer than I have been a psychologist. However, my art has always been about the expression of feeling, mood, emotion, in human subjects. I choose to create art that shows the human without placement in time or space or era, that is, nude, with no reference to the adornments of the day. This way, I cut straight to the language of the body which displays the feeling that I am trying to capture. As a psychologist, I find beauty and meaning in the full range of emotions that are brought to me.
Beauty
(Watercolor, Charcoal, Colored Pencil on Paper, 8” x 10”)
I like to work in layers of detail. I may start with a general wash of colors and shadow and then I will add to it some linework that will pull out some of the edges. I am very particular about the poses I use as I like them to be regular everyday expressions of emotion. We can only wonder what Beauty is thinking and feeling but I feel like there is something familiar and relatable to her mood.