My main passion in life is painting, along with writing and music. I only discovered this by chance ten years ago in 2000, when I was awarded my first art prize.
Since then, I have had 20 solo exhibitions, and at least as many collaborative exhibitions. I operated my own River-Crossing Gallery in Margaret River for 6 years from 2004-2011.
I have exhibited overseas and in the eastern states of Australia and my paintings are sought out by art collectors worldwide”.
After many years of travelling the world, dozens of times in Asia and all over Australia, Melbourne born Karin Luciano finally settled in Western Australia in the 1980’s and then in Margaret River in 1992.
As a young girl, I studied classical music for many years and attended the ballet regularly. A colourist at heart, my paintings are inspired by emotion, music and the environment of where I reside - Margaret River.
Immeasurable influences on my work include my late father, Andre Schuster a maestro gypsy violinist and double bass player from Transylvania, Hungary.
Also in my ancestry is the infamous feminist artist, activist and painter Portia Geach. Portia was my great great aunt born in the late 1800s, who donated an art prize that is awarded to Australian women portrait artists in the annual Portia Geach Portrait Prize held in Sydney.
My style of painting is action painting and I am an absolute colourist at heart.
I love to paint BIG, and in bright vibrant colours allowing the paint to run and drip at its own pace while I manoeuvre the canvas.
I use all types of unusual techniques by applying copious amounts of rich, thick paint; and then being spontaneous with the surface by dabbing with paint, sponging the surface, removing paint, scrapping the paint, applying sgraffito on the canvas using carving tools, spraying water at the canvas, squirting ink and throwing salt at the canvas. This allows the mediums to organically combine with each other on a thick texturous surface.
Music and dance themes feature in many of my artworks and I often incorporate my poetry in the paintings.
When I am painting, I prefer to paint at night when the world is quiet. This way, I am able to focus solely on going deep within my soul and psyche.
The silence of the evening allows me to express a depth of self expression that cant be accessed in the daylight.
I also like to use subtle metallics and you will discover that most of my paintings have embellishments of gold and silver leaf adorned on the surfaces or intermingled within the textures.
Usually my audience will not realise what my soul has revealed on the
canvas, but will discover an inner emotive reaction. In this I find the
beauty and reward of creating art”.