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Karen Gourley artist smiling outdoors with a robin pastel painting on her lap and her pastel box beside her

I’m Karen, and noticing is where every painting begins

I’m a wildlife artist based in Christchurch, New Zealand, although there’s still plenty of Belfast tucked into the edges.

I spend a slightly unreasonable amount of time watching birds, wandering beside rivers and trying to photograph wildlife before it notices me first. These encounters become the beginnings of my pastel paintings.

A little more about me

Made to last

Every print is produced on museum-quality archival paper, using pigment inks designed to resist fading for decades.

Framed pieces are finished in solid wood and arrive ready to hang straight from the box.

Karen Gourley selecting soft pastels from her wooden pastel box

From a wild encounter to the kitchen table

Each painting is created slowly by hand in soft pastel. I build the feathers, fur and tiny glints of light layer by layer, trying to hold onto the feeling of the original encounter.

My studio is currently the kitchen table. It isn’t terribly grand, but it does come with excellent access to the kettle.

Stories from The Quiet Wild


The finished painting is only part of the story. Come behind the scenes as I search for wildlife, follow new ideas and share the encounters that find their way onto the easel.

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