Mixed Shows:
2002 The Red Gallery,Thame
2000 - Fulcrum Gallery, Perranuthnoe, Cornwall
2000 Dick The Dog, Penzance
2000-01 Eclipse Gallery, Penzance
1999 - Goldsithney Gallery, Goldsithney, Cornwall
1999 Out of the Blue, Marazion, Cornwall
1999 The Schoolhouse, Morvah, Cornwall
1998-99 Printmakers Gallery, St Ives, Cornwall
1997 - Newlyn Society of Artists, Newlyn Art Gallery, Newlyn, Cornwall
1994 - Wills Lane Gallery, St Ives
1993 - Plumline Gallery, St Ives
1993 New Craftsman, St Ives
1992-94 Porthmeor Gallery, St Ives
1992-94 Taking Space, Island Centre, St Ives
1993 The Picture House, St Ives
1992 Contemporary Gallery, Penzance
1989 Thomsons Gallery, Albemarle St, London
1988 Cross Tree Gallery, Filkins, Glos
1980-82 Lawrence society of Artists, Devizes Wilts
1975-82 Chipping Camden Art Gallery, Glos

Private collections:
Work held in private collections in UK, France, Holland, USA, Australia

Teaching:
1993 - Freelance Art tutor:
Workshops for Tate St Ives
St Ives School of Painting
Individual Personal development tutoring
1989-92 Trowbridge College, Wilts
1989-90 Salisbury College of Art

Career development; subject matter; commissioned work:
Barbara Karn’s main area of interest was in landscape painting until her move to Cornwall in 1992. Beginning her career as a self taught artist, Barbara commenced a Foundation and BA (hons) course in 1992. During this time she developed an expressive style of painting, trees and woodlands being her main subject matter, often depicted as solitary and central in the picture as if tree portraits.

Frequent trips to Cornwall introduced the sea as a new subject. In 1992 she moved to Cornwall from Wiltshire. She painted the Cornish landscape and seascape, the elements of land, sea and sky often fragmented and colliding in broken images of shape and colour; an expressive description of flux and change in the far South West Peninsula landscape.

An interest in drawing the nude human figure developed at this time through teaching and practising life drawing, and soon this took over as Barbara’s main subject matter. The emotional content of the landscape paintings was more directly expressed through the figure.

At this point Barbara’s style emerged: She uses line to simplify and often distort the figure to emphasise character or attitude. Colour is used to evoke a mood or emotional response.

Exploring the primal nature of beings in her figures, Barbara developed an interest in drawing animals. This led to commissioned work which she enjoys carrying out in front of the live model, as a challenge and diversion from the more solitary studio work.

A solid sculptural quality in the life drawings led Barbara to explore stone carving as a development on the theme of the figure. African, South American and English medieval carvings have been a relevant reference for Barbara’s continuing exploration of a primitive style.