Karen E Lewis

Iao Valley Cottage, Oil Painting

2025

Artist Comments
Remnants of a plantation rest deep in the historic Iao Valley, where a cottage, a banana tree, and a garden grow as native Hawaiians once planted them. Mist floats gently through the valley, adding a sense of calmness. Artist Karen E Lewis painted the scene on location.

About the Artist
Karen E. Lewis grew up on the water, swimming, kayaking and later guiding rafting tours down the Deschutes River. She came to painting accidentally, but quickly became obsessed. Water naturally became her main subject, and a new way for her to connect with what she treasured the most. Karen’s landscapes, with their warm tones and atmospheric light, project a great love of the scenery and nature. The impressionistic colors, violet mountains and orange riverbanks provide a dream-like quality to the scenes. They feel similar to how you would remember a beautiful place years after visiting, as something magical and not altogether real. She places the viewer on the river, so that we are floating through the scene with her, dwarfed by the other elements of the landscape. Karen’s car is always stocked with her painting materials in case she comes across an inspiring scene and wants to capture it. She recently experienced a beautiful sunset in the Trader Joe’s parking lot, and fortunately she was prepared with an easel and paint.

Words that describe this painting: Iao Valley, Maui, Hawaii, cottage, banana tree, impasto, plein air, mountain, house, home, impressionism, landscape, oil painting, purple

Iao Valley Cottage
Karen E Lewis
Oil painting on wood
Ready to frame
One-of-a-kind
Signed on front
2025
16 in. h x 12 in. w x .25 in. d
1 lbs. 5 oz.