Meet The Artists
Peter Karis
Artist Peter Karis was an expressionist, painting people, flowers, trees, and objects as he interpreted them, not as they seem to be.
Karis was born in Jersey City and at an early age new art was his calling. He went to college at Kent State and got his BFA in painting. Practical concerns turned Karis to advertising where for over 30 years he guided Karis Advertising in Cleveland Ohio.
Karis’s painting career was sparked when Canadian recording artist, Ian Thomas selected a painting for his new album. The result was a Juno Award, the equivalent of a grammy for best album cover design of the year.
Karis works in acrylic and the subject matter is is expressionistic with maximum color conveying emotion and power. The work tends to draw you in to a memory of your own, more evocative than descriptive, “the viewer has to become a participant,” Karis said.
Karis has won numerous awards for his work which has been exhibited throughout the United States. Internationally, Karis was one of three American artists selected to exhibit at the Gallery Roseg in Switzerland. In 2018 Peter was selected as one of 60 contemporary artists internationally to receive the ATIM Masters Award and Art Tour International Magazine honored him in New York City for his contribution to the arts throughout his lifetime.
John Crum
John is a painter of expressionist figures and gentle surreal landscapes. Work that is easily recognized for narrative themes, diverse subjects, bright color palette, and bold design.
His inspiration stems from a desire to make people smile, to prompt them to look beyond the ordinary, and to instill a sense of hope for the future. This mission is personal and deeply rooted in his own experiences. It is reflected in every stroke of paint and every symbol he incorporates. Crum’s works are not just meant to be seen but to be felt, experienced, and contemplated. As you delve into his art, be prepared to be enveloped by a spectrum of emotions. The bold colors might pull you in with their vivacity, while the symbols might challenge you to decode the hidden meanings. This journey through his art is not passive; it demands engagement, reflection, and active participation. It is a captivating journey of emotions, thoughts, and discoveries to be made along the way.
In the end, John Crum’s artwork is an invitation to embrace the playful, to dig deeper into the hidden aspects of life, and to emerge with a renewed sense of hope and happiness. It’s a testament to the transformative power of art, capable of changing perspectives, lifting spirits, and offering strength in its most vivid, colorful form.
David Simpson
David Simpson is from Baltimore, Maryland, served in the military and graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art. David opened his photography studio and quickly began receiving national and international attention with major clients and awards for the next 20 years. David then began a new challenge, film. As a commercial director, he worked in NY, Toronto, Chicago, Texas, Vancouver, and Italy keeping him busy and traveling for the next 25 years. In 2006 it was finally time to pick up the still camera again, this time a digital model, it was time to work for himself. David created his first photography book in 2009 Loch Raven, followed by Glass House of Dreams in 2012, The Swan at Loch Raven 2014, and after moving to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina created his current book, Impressions of an Island. David uses light like an impressionistic painter to reveal the ever changing beauty, colors and serenity of natural settings.
His work can be viewed at www.davidsimpsonimages.com
Kellie Jacobs
Kellie Jacobs has spent her life watching the seasons change among the marshes and beaches of the South Carolina Coast. After graduating from the College of Charleston, Jacobs decided to pursue her professional career as a painter. Working primarily in pastel, she paints landscapes using atmosphere and light to create mood and expression in her art. "I am fascinated with the light at the end of the day. When the evening sun is low and warm touching the tops of the sand dunes and grasses of the marsh is the time of day I love best."
Jacobs' softly textured pastel paintings focus primarily on Lowcountry marshes and beaches. South Carolina’s rich, natural beauty provides her with an endless supply of subject matter. Jacobs uses watercolor underpaintings or washes with denatured alcohol to provide a fascinating painterly appearance to her work. Jacobs visually describes the scene, but allows the viewer to complete the landscape by adding his or her own personal interpretive experiences or memories.
Jacobs’ juxtaposition of bright colors and soft textures appeals to both domestic and international collectors. Traveling to foreign locations has also enhanced her ability to manipulate her chosen medium of pastel to produce desirable and collectible artwork. Many of her works hang in prestigious corporate and private collections nationally and abroad. Jacobs’ work can be found at the Lowcountry Artists Gallery and Gallery at SEWE in Charleston, South Carolina.
Greg Barnes
Greg is an accomplished plein air artist who received his formal training at Wake Forest University, studying painting, printmaking, sculpture, and figure drawing. His versatility shines with abilities in charcoal, pastel, and oil.
Landscapes are Greg’s love. He enjoys painting on location (en plein air), and as a result of working quickly, leans towards impressionism. A mix of realistic and impressionistic elements give his pieces a life of their own, while a free and creative use of color punctuates his style.
Maintaining a studio where he teaches and paints in Charlotte, NC, Greg also travels the country exhibiting at outdoor art festivals and teaching pastel and oil painting workshops. He has been represented by Karis Art Gallery for 6 years.