Exhibit: Women from the Bible, and Other Stories

Exhibit: Women from the Bible, and Other Stories

Artwork by Karen Warshal
Exhibit Dates: January 22 – March 23, 2026

Artist Statement
The act of observation with the many challenges it presents is a driving force in all my work. Although I occasionally invent imaginary backgrounds for my figures, I always paint my people, places and objects from life. It’s my hope that the immediacy of the experience with my subject fosters the creation of a new reality that the viewer will deem worthy of entering.

I like painting everything, but Portraiture is probably my favorite. I view my models as my collaborators, and I’ve worked with some amazing models. Model sessions at my studio last four hours. The models get breaks but they work hard and are dedicated. The dynamic between artist and model is so important. It’s fascinating to watch someone’s face over time as the inner self comes to light.

I love creating narratives, sometimes ambiguous and other times specific. The biblical paintings in this exhibit represent strong women from the Jewish Bible, a subject of great interest to me.

About the Artist
Karen Warshal is a classical realist artist living and working in Baltimore City. She received her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and her Master of Fine Arts from Tufts University in conjunction with the Boston Museum School. She studied classical art at the Schuler School, at the Parker School of Structural Sculpture, and she has drawn extensively from antique sculptures in museums throughout Europe.

She has been the recipient of a Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award, a finalist in the Art Renewal Center Salon, and a finalist in the National Portrait Society Members Only competition. Her work has appeared in American Artist: Drawing and in International Artist magazine. Most recently, Karen was one of five artists chosen to paint the last five mayors of Baltimore. Her portrait of Mayor Bernard Jack Young will hang in the Board of Estimates Room in City Hall.

Karen teaches “Portrait Drawing” and “Anatomy for Artists” at the Maryland Institute College of Art where she is known for her classical approach. She does portraits upon commission, and her paintings are represented in many private collections.

In addition to her work as an artist, Karen conducts annual art historical tours of Italy under the auspices of her company “Perspective Tours, LLC.”