Artist captures scenes from faraway places
Works by Nancy Karpf will be exhibited at library headquarters
BY TALI ISRAELI
Staff Writer

Nancy Karpf

For Nancy Karpf, painting is like dancing - intimate and physical. Karpf, 47, of Freehold Township, is an oil and watercolor painter. Her work will be displayed in the front entrance of the Monmouth County Library Headquarters, Symmes Drive, Manalapan, now through Oct. 30.

Karpf, an artist since childhood, said she has always loved to paint because she is able to lose herself in her work.

"I see it as kind of a dance with the canvas and the paintbrush," she said.

Karpf said that when she paints she uses a lot of gestures to try and create interesting compositions.

"It makes its statement through the simplicity of the gesture," she said. "Sometimes you can make a single line and it captures the essence of whatever you're trying to communicate."

The artist said she enjoys being loose and spontaneous when she paints.

"For me it's almost physical," she added.

Most of Karpf's work is based on images she has seen during trips to Morocco, Thailand, England and Indonesia. She said she tries to capture the essence of the things she has seen during her travels.

"Thai Tribal Woman"

Karpf uses photographs she has taken of architecture, nature, flowers and people as inspiration for her work. The artist said she does not paint the picture exactly as the photograph was taken, instead, she adds a twist by changing the angle and the colors.

Karpf said she portrays an "unusual slice of life" by cropping the photos and using different angles and perspectives.

Most of her photos are taken at exotic locales, however, some only look like they come from foreign places.

Some of her paintings include the Ringling Brothers estate in Florida, a tannery in Morocco, rice fields in Bali, seals from Pier 39 in San Francisco, a doorway in Germany and a boy looking out a window in Thailand.

Karpf said she likes to find subjects that are "off the beaten path" for her paintings.

As for her palette, Karpf said she uses mostly earth tones in her paintings such as browns, blues, yellows and greens.

"Thai Monk School"

"I love color and I think that my palette is rich," she said.

According to a biography written about the artist for the October show, although Karpf's paintings are realistic and her colors are earthy and vibrant, she introduces an element of abstraction in her design that creates new insights from the viewer.

Karpf said she took art classes from the age of 13 all the way through college.

"Painting has always been a passion, a love, something I really enjoy doing," she said. "I love exploring with new materials."

Karpf graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in fine arts. She has studied at the San Francisco Art Institute, the College of Marin, and the College of San Mateo.

Over the years Karpf's work has been exhibited at the Art Alliance, the Guild of Creative Art, the Monmouth Museum, Brookdale Community College and the Middletown Township Public Library.

"Turkish Gardens"

The pieces being displayed at the Monmouth County Library Headquarters in October include 12 oil paintings and six watercolors.