ART BY KARA VOORHEES REYNOLDS
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Preorder The Florida State Coloring Book: Landmarks and Landscapes to Color from the Sunshine State, available for preorder with most retailers! This is distributed by Simon & Schuster and easy to find (Target, Barnes & Noble, etc.)!

RESIDENCIES
​November 2019 artist-in-residence in France at Chateau d'Orquevaux
October 2021 artist-in-residence in Greece at The Skopelos Foundation for the Arts
May 2025 artist-in-residence at Estudio Corazón at Ghost Ranch (Georgia O'Keeffe residency)

ARTIST STATEMENT
I am a watercolorist with a penchant for mermaids, octopuses, sea turtles, and the aquatic in general. I use vibrant colors and rich textures and patterns to communicate the magical flow and the abstract glory of the ocean. Over the many years of this practice, clients have said that my art brings them tranquility, carving out an unplanned moment of contemplation and calm. This is a delight to hear, as my own process is to meditate as I paint, isolating my mind and hands to the singular practice of creating. The majority of our oceans are unexplored. Even as we advance scientifically in understanding its nearly otherworldly vastness, we will never fully grasp its magnitude and depths. We can say the same for the mind, the psyche. And as we journey towards knowing that part of ourselves more thoroughly, we should also submit our human consciousnesses to the fact and the relief that we will never fully know our brains on both an individual and a global level. And while that is daunting, it is also liberating. This frees me to enjoy the simplicity of things that are not caught up in the turmoil of the world. Clever crustaceans, spectacular cephalopods, mystical sirens, and selkies only ask to be seen and perhaps marveled at. And that contemplation can allow for pockets of harmony in the soul. Life is hard. If my mermaid painting can cause someone to stop and breathe for a moment, I have done my job. I used to say my art was not political. But in a culture that celebrates burnout, overworking, hustle culture, and measuring our success by how tired we are, is not rest a revolutionary act? Does that then make emotional recovery and mental restoration radical? If our society insists on shark-like movement, never stopping, are stillness and serenity not then political? And in these moments, inside the hush, perhaps that is where we can have the time to seek truths, to parse out how we can make a difference, change the world around us, and affect progress. I believe my work allows viewers to create that quiet space for themselves. Andy Warhol once said, “I just paint things I always thought were beautiful, things you use every day and never think about.” Peace and whimsy are my aims with each piece, creating a moment to stop and wonder and breathe. I pray you can stop and wonder and breathe with me.

APPEARANCES
Daytime, NBC 
Bay News 9
Art for Profit's Sake
Creative Loafing
Tampa Bay Times
The Unplugged Creative 

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PictureThe artist with a work in progress.
SELECTED EXHIBITION HISTORY
​August 2015, District 3 Gallery, Tampa, FL
October 2015, Creative Souls Studio, St. Petersburg, FL
January 2016, Felicitous Coffee, Tampa, FL **
March – April 2016, Black Crow Coffee, St. Petersburg, FL **
August 2016, Bamboozle Tea Lounge, Tampa, FL **
September 2016 – April 2018, Victory Coffee, Tampa, FL **
March - April 2017, Six Ten Brewing, Tampa, FL **
May 2017, Bamboozle Tea Lounge, Tampa, FL **
November 2017, 7venth Sun Brewery, Tampa, FL **
January – March 2018, Oldsmar City Hall Gallery, Oldsmar, FL
March - May 2018, Valhalla Resale, Tampa, FL **
June – August 2018, SubCentral at Iberian Rooster, St. Petersburg, FL
June 2018 – June 2019, Hair Vigilante, Tampa, FL **
September 2018 – November 2018, MOSI - Museum of Science and Industry, Tampa, FL
2019 - ARTPool CraftyFest markets
January-March 2020, Bamboozle Tea Lounge, Tampa, FL **
April 2020, MIZE Gallery, St. Petersburg, FL
​August - October, 2020, The Bull Market,
Tampa, FL **
October 2020 - January 2021, Bamboozle Tea Lounge, Tampa, FL **
December 2020 - February 2021, Overflow Brewing, St. Petersburg, FL
May 2021, MIZE Gallery, St. Petersburg, FL
May-June 2021, House of Shadows, Tampa, FL
June-July 2021, House of Shadows, Tampa, FL
​June-July 2021, Morean Arts Center, St. Petersburg, FL
June-July 2021, Atelier de SoSi, St. Petersburg, FL
​August 2021, Five Deuces Galleria, St. Petersburg, FL
October 2021, House of Shadows, Tampa, FL
November-December 2021, Beach House, Gulfport, FL
January 2022 - present, Artpool Gallery,  St. Petersburg, FL
July 2022, The Florida Aquarium, Tampa, FL
August 2022, Valhalla Resale, Tampa, FL **
September 2022, House of Shadows, Tampa, FL
October 2022-January 2023, The Dunedin Chamber of Commerce, Dunedin, FL
January 2023, Martinis & Matisse, Clearwater, FL
May 2023, Equality FL gala, St. Petersburg, FL
January 2024, Martinis & Matisse, Clearwater, FL
​April 2024,  
House of Shadows, Tampa, FL
May 2024, Equality FL gala, St. Petersburg, FL
January 2022 - November 2024, Artpool Gallery, 
 St. Petersburg, FL
** solo show

September 2024 - present, The Nature Center at Honeymoon Island State Park, Dunedin, FL

January 2024 - present, The Disco Dolls. Tampa, FL **


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  • Home
  • The Artist
  • The Author
  • Prints & Originals
  • Mermaids
  • Octopuses, turtles and whimsy
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