Karen Retana - Expressionism, Nature, Sculpture

When discussing the origins of her inspiration, Karen Retana pats her heart gently and says, “It’s in here. I started painting and photography because I’m a nature lover.” Lavish Costa Rica is her native home. It means “rich coast.” Karen gives a history lesson about deeper meanings. “The first explorers noticed the vegetation and saw it was rich. But we’re rich in happiness and peace, too. God helps keep it that way.”
The government also keeps guard on the country’s resources. Karen said, “They have a National Park to protect the Macaws.” She shows pictures of Toucans she photographed. “I remember things from since I was little. The bananas and coffee. We have rainforests, dry forests and cloud forests. The Pacific coast is on one side, the Atlantic Ocean on the other. It’s paradise. 20-24 degrees Celsius all year. We have  rainy and dry seasons. It’s sunny but never too hot.”
If she sounds like a tour guide, that is precisely what she did in conjunction with her art. “The President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias made peace treaties in Central America and encouraged tourism. It made career opportunities for girls. I got a Bachelor’s degree in  Hotel Administration and Travel. But I didn’t want to be inside hotels all day solving problems. I wanted to be with nature so I became a certified tour guide. It’s also when I started painting more.”

Karen cited family influences on career choices. “My uncle Roberto was a professional artist. I had twenty-one aunts and uncles, two brothers and one sister. Lots of characters with eighty to ninety of us in a family picture. Mami’s side was  artistic and musical. I started in ballet at seven and studied music. My sister is in The National Symphony. Mami was a teacher. It was difficult for her to find babysitters so she took us to school with her. I started school when I was four. Mami was my first tour guide. On vacation trips, she talked to us about crops, farmers, altitudes, populations and kilometers between towns. She made a game out of the journey. There are more rivers than you can imagine. We’d all try to be the first to tell what river we were crossing and how far it was to the next one. We had dream life in our beautiful country. Now that I see what is out there I appreciate what I had. That is where I got my passion for being a tour guide and painter.”

Her art evolved from these experiences. “I was free as a bird when I finished my day as a tour guide. I’d take my watercolors and paint directly from nature.” Lime green frogs with bright red eyes and other species hidden on the forest floor amidst the leaves are in her work. Chameleons, birds and flowers are recurrent themes. She shared a plethora of photographs. “Like you see me with no make-up right now, my photographs have no enhancement.” Brilliant oranges of sunset skies streak in the background of tropical bird photographs. Ever-changing mountains and forests are preserved compositions. Her photographs of Cuba were exhibited in Costa Rica when she returned from her travels there.
But it was another traveler that brought her to Polk County. She reminisced, “I started with big tour groups, but found I enjoyed small groups or families more. “ Karen was the tour guide when Niv Ben Yehuda and his father were on vacation. “I found the love of my life,” Karen shared. “God put us together. Love is powerful. No matter how much I loved my country, I got married and moved to New Jersey. Can you believe the change from Costa Rica? I could never get warm! I painted the four seasons up there but we found our hearts down here.” Niv, President of CitraSource, had a Polk County apartment for years. Karen continued, “We preferred the weather and people here.”

People like Rick Powers, renowned Florida wildlife artist. Rick brought a gathering of like minds but different styles, to the couple and Arts Ensemble International was founded. “Niv noticed my need to be with other artists,” Karen said. “We thought about doing this downtown, but we have more room here. So here we are!”

And the public is welcome there in this unique interactive studio and gallery for which Karen was the inspiration. Rick Powers commented, “She’s not like anyone else. She came in where I used to work and could talk for an hour about art. She’s excited about learning or doing anything new.” She is embarking in a new medium with a tropical metal sculpture with encouragement from another colleague at Arts Ensemble, Buddy Sears.

Karen paints in diverse styles from many locations. North Carolina, Bok Tower Gardens, New York, the hills of Jerusalem and Key West are a few places she captured on canvas. “My character goes everywhere. I like to paint everything with everything. I started with oils. But if someone told me I could only use oils, I would die.” That passionate statement is demonstrated in a new large work of a Costa Rican volcano of predominant purple hues. “I feel like an impressionist, but at the same time, a free soul. I don’t stick to any movement. I paint what’s in my heart.”

Article by Mary Joye
Special thanks to Today & Tonight Magazine