ABOUT KAREN
Karen L. Maness' studio practice centers on painting expansive landscapes and intimate human stories, tied intrinsically to her simultaneous career in the American theatre. Maness is captivated by the universal connection of people to their environments and one another. She explores the consistency of time and the ephemeral moments of exchange between people. Her works transform spaces and invite viewers to rest or play in her infinite landscapes. Her studio practice and design work include public art, exhibitions, consultation, and corporate commissions. Maness' paintings have been exhibited nationally and are held in collections worldwide. In addition, she is a founding member and faculty at Atelier Dojo, an Austin school dedicated to the language of figurative painting.
As Assistant Professor of Practice at the University of Texas at Austin, Karen L. Maness advocates for the mastery of physical painting skills to communicate fluently in physical, virtual, augmented, and mixed realities. She has worked extensively in theatre, themed attractions, industrial display, music tours, teaching master painting classes in the USA and abroad.
In her roles as Associate Director of the Texas Performing Arts Fabrication Studios, she delivers project-based collaborative, interdisciplinary courses to develop nimble students for the 21st-century workforce.
She is the co-author of the award-winning The Art of the Hollywood Backdrop, the definitive behind-the-scenes history of Hollywood's motion picture scenic art, the Director of the Texas Performing Arts Hollywood Backdrop Collection, and co-curator of Boca Raton Museum of Art's world premier exhibition, Art of the Hollywood Backdrop.
Artist Statement
Karen's career as a scenic artist has profoundly affected her instincts and practice as a studio artist, ever reminding her of the palpable, dynamic, spacial interplay between character, story and environment — the theatre of daily life.
Red rust studios
The painting residence of artist Karen Maness
Teaching
Scenic Art, Figurative Painting & Fabric Rendering
Karen is the principal instructor of scenic art and figurative painting at the University of Texas at Austin, Department of Theatre & Dance. She has taught master painting classes in the Uniter States and abroad, and teaches privately through her studio in Austin.
To find out if there are any private classes coming up, please use the contact form or subscribe to the news & events blog for private class announcements!
What People Are Saying
“Karen Maness is a great teacher who encourages the students to develop their own painting styles while still guiding them to become better painters. She values the growth of her students and always tries to engage with them in her class.”
— Chris yoo, Set designer at alita battle angel - twentieth century fox
affiliations & clients
