| Karen Eugenia Mitchell LaBach BOLD ARTWORK Oil, Ceramic, Sculpture, Drawing, Print Making, Fabric Design Karen Eugenia Mitchell LaBach was born into a United States Army family. Her Father, Sidney Eugene Mitchell, was a WWII hero earning the Brozne Star and the Medal of Honor, in the 84th Railsplitters Division. By the time Karen was five, she had traveled to many states. Her Grandparents were third generation Mississippians and she spent a large amount of time with them, and her many Aunts, Uncles and cousins in the early years. Her parents, both born in Mississippi, settled in the Lexington, Kentucky area, after the Second World War, where she spent her childhood years. As a young adult, she attended the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi and majored in Fine Art and English with minors in Journalism and Spanish. The Ole Miss Law School was where her Great Grandfather, James Beckett Gladney studied for his career in Juris Prudence and where her Mother, Catherine Delores Stewart won her title as a Beauty and Favorite. Karen studied with the noted printmakers Frank Cansado and Paul Doren, internationally known painters Frederico Gonzola and Jere Allen, and studied fabric design and sculpture under Sheri Stewart. She was also fortunate to have Dr. Natalie Schroder for her English tutledge. She took a year off from college to work at the world famous Thoroughbred Record Magazine, under the infamous Arnold Kirkpatrick. Arnold taught her much about the publishing world--and gave her the desire to become part of it. Once back in Kentucky, Karen landed a job with a small ad-agency and learned the tools of the trade working on print ads and collateral for clients that ranged from Scuba Diving Suppliers to Book Publishers. After a year of that, she graduated to the Blood-Horse Magazine. The advertising horse world was more than just fast and furious--as you learned how to quickly produce a weekly book, doing all kinds of printing chores and plenty other publications, too. In the late 70's, Karen joined the creative group of the relatively new company, Spendthrift Advertising, based on the prestigious Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky where two Thoroughbred Triple Crown winners were housed and a few Kentucky Derby winners were stalled. In total, she spent an exciting 20 years living and working in Kentucky before moving to Saint Albans, West Virginia, near Charleston, and then back to Mississippi for some postgraduate work. Karen next lived in the Memphis metro area, and worked for a printing company, and the local NBC affiliate, WLBT from the late 80's until 1990. Her clients included Federal Express, Proctor and Gamble, Kellogs' and Memphis Magazine. Her job in television involved writing and producing TV commercials, radio spots and newspaper ads. She moved back to Kentucky in 1990, where she met and married William Anderson LaBach. Her life is enriched by a large family, a grand circle of friends and a wonderful, loving husband, Bill LaBach. His family, as well as her own, propels Karen as far north as New York, to Cincinnati, Ohio and down the Natchez Trace. Her trips through the Mississippi River Delta, by way of Memphis are a rich source for her portrait and landscape paintings. Karen is an avid photographer and outdoors-person and has traveled the world in search of breath-taking vistas. She is especially fond of places that horses roam or race! Only a few years ago she trekked to an Army base camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains, which lies squarely in the center of Charlottesville, Virginia. Her travels include Ireland, England, France, and Spain as well as most of the United States. Karen paints landscapes and portraits from her journeys and images from her life in Mississippi and Kentucky. She loves Jazz and Blues Music, and personally knows some of the greats like B.B. King from her Memphis days. You will frequently see her garden flowers, musician buddies, or Horse Racing friends along with the Mississippi, Tennessee, West Virginia or Kentucky landscapes in her paintings. She experiences the world as trembling with energy and she conveys that impression of energy and movement in her paintings with powerful, expressive strokes. |
