Karen Bessette began making art when her parents first enrolled her in art class at the local museum. Ever since then she has continued to explored lots of different art forms and materials. She holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and has won numerous awards for her collages and has work in private collections throughout the United States. Karen exhibits her work throughout New England and is a freelance illustrator. Some of her clients include: St. Mary's Bank, Art Builds Community!, Providence Publishing and the New England Mint.
Karen uses hand-painted papers, sheet music, maps, antique magazine pages and other materials to create her collages. The process of using these materials along with painting techniques builds a textured-filled image where the viewer will notice something new each time they view the collage. She also creates whimsical scenes and illustrations using ink and color pencil.
She lives in Manchester, NH and has work in local shops and continues to exhibit. When not making art she enjoys gardening, reading, taking in local theatre and running after her two adopted pugs Beans & Mack!
