Karen Winterholer

“The question is not what you look at, but what you see.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

I have had a love of art my whole life beginning with crayons, then watercolors, and pen-and-ink drawings. As a child growing up in Noank, Connecticut, my artist father taught me about composition, light and color and encouraged my artistic endeavors. I exhibited at outdoor art shows with him and did commissioned work at college for extra spending money.

In 2002, my medium changed when my husband bought me my first SLR camera. I turned from watercolors to photography, and the beauty of New England landscapes, wildlife, seacoasts, and botanicals became the subjects of my photos. As a self-taught photographer, I studied new digital techniques such as HDR (high dynamic range) to take my photography to a more creative level.

My goal is to not only capture the beauty and magic of a landscape, wildlife, or flower, but to deliver the emotion I felt at that moment through the use of color and light. When someone viewing my art also experiences that magic and emotion, I know I have been successful.

I have been a juried member and exhibitor of the Hillsborough Area Artisans, the Washington Area Artisans, the New Hampshire Society of Photographic Artists, a member artist of the Center For the Arts, and the Monadnock Area Artists Association. My work has been exhibited at the Newport Library Arts Center, at The Fells in Newbury, NH and at CFA MicroGallery shows in New London, NH.

My unique mandala necklaces, wearable art created from my floral photography, have been featured in Kearsarge Magazine and sold at select gift shops in New Hampshire.

When not behind the camera lens, I can be found in the gardens of my home studio, Maia Designs, in the beautiful foothills of Mt. Sunapee.