A LOCAL photographer turns artist with her first exhibition of Yorkshire paintings.

Karen Turner, a well-known award winning professional photographer, has developed her love of the Yorkshire countryside and coast, and taken it one step further.

Karen has been a professional photographer for 16 years, capturing the finest food in Yorkshire, businesses and people, all with her unusual, natural light, and documentary approach. However when she isn’t using her camera professionally, she loves to take it with her to capture the North Yorkshire countryside on her walks.

Her love of the Yorkshire landscape has led her into painting and printmaking, where she has developed a unique extension of her images into quirky, bright, abstract paintings and prints.

This new development, and progression of Karen’s artistic creativity has become very successful, and her work is now very sought after, leading to her first exhibition at the very popular Thirsk café, Yorks of Thirsk until May 31.

Karen said: “I love Yorkshire, it truly is God’s Own Country, providing so much inspiration for an artist, and I love painting my favourite places in our amazing county.

“After an initial sketch of the scene I then develop my multimedia paintings with a mix of acrylics, gouache, inks and even Farrow & Ball paints.”

She added: “I apply different vibrant layers to build up my Yorkshire scenes, giving the finished paintings a graphic and illustrative feel.

I love to make quirky art that makes people smile.

“Having worked as a professional photographer for 16 years I have a natural eye for composition and I enjoy bringing this into my artwork. I really enjoy this extension of my creativity as it takes me out of my comfort-zone, and it gives me a very exciting way of expressing how I feel about where I live.”