Dance of life

Karen Summers’s art reflects her passion for movement and dance

- Diana Crampton

Wafting, floating, weaving; these are the characteristics of Karen Summers’ moving, dancing figures. It was after attending courses at the Drawing School in Shoreditch that she was introduced to work on the moving figure.

“Dancers, wrestlers, acrobats, all either constantly moving or with very short poses,” were her subjects, she tells me. “It was frustrating and very challenging but I found it exhilarating and exciting to try and capture the movement, expressive gestures and emotion in front of me.”

Karen was brought up in London and had always drawn and painted. She has been in Groombridge for 12 years and is a fan. “Living here gives you the best of all worlds; there are extremely beautiful areas with many amazing nature walks with iconic views of the Kent landscape, dotted with good country pubs, restaurants and historic towns.

“And being just an hour from both London and the coast offers pretty much all you need right on your doorstep.”

Karen’s studio is in the eaves of a barn, but with enough standing space in the centre to be able to step back and evaluate her work on the easel.

“The sides are packed with materials, paper, my work table and a really comfortable chair,” she says. There are Velux windows for light and the orientation is south-westerly.