Most days, artist Karen Hewitt Hagan doesn’t have to go far to find a subject. This self-taught painter and South Carolina native just rolls out of bed and strolls to the deck of the 53-foot boat she shares with her husband, Bob. “I wake up and want to paint every day,” she says.
Drawing inspiration from classic and contemporary Impressionists, Karen applies layers of bright colors to her canvases. Her swirling brushstrokes might represent a sailboat moored in Charleston Harbor or a skiff cruising the Caribbean. Whether she’s painting at the edge of a Lowcountry marsh or on the dock in a Bahamian harbor, Karen stands at her easel, engaged in the moment, her oils gradually merging into a cohesive image.
Karen credits contemporary Impressionist painter John Carroll Doyle with launching her art career. It wasn’t so many years ago that she worked in radio advertising sales in Charleston, never thinking to pick up a paintbrush. John helped her get the right equipment and taught her about light and shadow. “I started out painting really large canvases, spending a lot of time on each one,” Karen recalls. “John said, ‘Go outside.’ When I started painting outside, the paintings changed. My life changed. It probably prepared me for the boating adventure.”
Today Karen carefully chooses sites with strong light and shadow, and sets up her easel where she “won’t fall in the water,” she says, laughing. “You kind of know when you find the perfect spot.” And from the deck of almost any boat, she discovers endless subjects. “The scenery is great,” she says. “You can just sit there, and it changes.”
This weekend, she’s attending the annual art show at Abaco Beach Resort in the Bahamas. Before the event, Karen borrows a friend’s small yacht to paint Hope Town’s harbor from a watery vantage point. Years ago on an excursion aboard their floating home, Plein Air, she and Bob fell in love with the Abaco Islands and the warm boating community here. “I felt like the people gave us a big hug when we came,” she says.
Karen’s work now is displayed at several galleries in the Bahamas and the United States. She’s participated in a plein air competition in Carmel, California, and has taught painting in Tuscany. But wherever she travels, her heart remains back on board a boat. “Boaters are happy. Marinas are happy places,” Karen says. “I love boats, and I want to be on one for the rest of my days.”
ALSO: See a slide show of Karen's work.
