Print Exchange 2026: Karen Nickels

My work draws inspiration from nature, particularly the structure and quiet beauty of flowers and plant forms. I work primarily in mixed media, combining collage, acrylic paint, charcoal, acrylic inks and gold leaf to create layered, textured surfaces. Vintage papers, fragments of text and musical notation are often incorporated into the background, adding subtle references to time, memory and history. Large-scale floral imagery frequently becomes the focal point of my paintings. These botanical forms allow me to explore contrast between delicacy and strength, while the layered collage surfaces create depth and a sense of age beneath the painted image. Alongside my painting practice, I produce lino prints that focus on local landscapes and natural environments. Through printmaking I explore a more simplified, graphic interpretation of nature while maintaining the same connection to place and landscape.