WHY FOLK ART?
Here’s the long and short of it. The Folk Art Tradition is a focus of our times – values, ideas, a statement of how an artist interprets life as seen from his/her point of view. It would be easy to paint quaint scenes with horses and buggies; however, that is not a true statement of our time. My mind seems to focus on memories of little girls in dresses and white socks; kids playing on sidewalks. I grew up in a city, so frequently, my paintings are of city streets and the way I paint is what I appear to want to remember. I like color, so my paintings and items tend to be bright. There are enough people painting sad things, monotone things; I paint happy things. I prefer to get a smile out of the viewer than have them ponder the deep meaning of what I have created. Yes, sometimes I paint something with a hidden meaning, but isn’t it just more fun to create your own story when viewing a folk art piece. Karen Dittman lives on a gentle mountain top where she paints as much as the day allow
