I’m Karen Laurie Thomas, artist, teacher, and naturalist. This is my manifesto.
  • Life has a mystical, magical beauty to it if you look for it.
  • One should always make time to talk to birds and plants and chase dragonflies and butterflies.
  • Profound healing comes from being in a wide-open space where you can see for miles.
  • Do not think of winning. Think, rather, of not losing.
  • Where there’s life, there’s hope.
  • If it’s meant for you, it won’t try to kill you.
  • Living simply, frugally, and being free is better than having security and lots of possessions but a pair of golden handcuffs.

My Journey or How I Got Here
“A journey is called that because you cannot know what you will discover on the journey, what you will do with it, what you find, or what you find it will do for you.” James Baldwin
It’s 2006. I’m living in northern Virginia happily working as an IT project management government contractor. It wasn’t my first love or passion, but it’s where I landed after having two near death experiences (one complete with the typical out-of-body experience) after passing my general examination for my Ph.D.

I had all of the indicators of middle to upper middle-class success by following the pattern of success I was taught. Namely, get a good, stable job, delay personal satisfaction until your vacation, and aggressively and forcefully go after what you want relentlessly even if it meant pushing everyone and everything not helping you achieve your goals out of the way.
This worked just fine for me until my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and coronary heart failure. He followed this same pattern and just when he had the time to be free and live fully and authentically, his ability to do so was robbed of him. As I juggled the changes that Alzheimer’s brought to the family dynamics between him, my mother, and my sister (who both lived with him) and driving 3-5 hours one way depending on traffic to be a support.
Being outside has always been my sanctuary and a place of healing for me. I started spending time outside in nature with my camera and sketchbook as often as I could to reconnect with her magic and beauty. This helped me handle the changes on the Alzheimer’s journey that came with myself living a long distance from my parents and sister and the new family dynamic.
 
I soon enrolled in art courses at night after work and found additional tools through completing several life coach and personal transformation programs. As I did, I found myself disillusioned with the path I was on and who I was. I was being called to reinvent my life to better align with who I’ve become.
What began as me slowly changing course resulted in me downsizing from a 1400 square foot townhouse into a 550 square foot studio apartment, voluntarily leaving the security of a steady paycheck and my government contractor job, becoming a professional artist, and getting certified as a Virginia Master Naturalist.
 
Today, I paint the divine beauty of nature to honor my dedication to listening to nature’s silent whispers and exploring her magic and beauty. I offer classes and workshops where I show how I use art and creativity to reconnect with my true self and celebrate the beauty life in times of stress and change. Together, my work helps you live connected to divine beauty within and without.

Official Bio

A life-long naturalist, Karen Laurie freely roamed woods growing up. Today, her art captures the captures moments from a life dedicated to listening to nature's silent whispers and exploring her magic and beauty. In her classes, Karen Laurie's students relax, play like a child, rediscover their creativity, and reconnect with the beauty inside and around them
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Karen Laurie currently lives in the Washington, DC area in Northern Virginia. She has had two solo exhibitions in the Durant Center in Alexandria and The Gallery at Creative Cauldron in Falls Church, VA. She has exhibited at the Target Gallery, The Art League Gallery, and Del Ray Artisans Gallery in Alexandria Virginia.

When she is not painting, Karen Laurie helps educate, conserve, and manage Northern Virginia's natural resources and natural areas as a certified naturalist with the Virginia Master Naturalists, Arlington Regional Chapter.