Karla Kaizoji Austin

Karla’s unusual path to her art took many twists and turns. Growing up in Southern California, she began drawing as a child and always knew she wanted to become a fine artist. She worked as a  bus driver, truck driver, Fed Ex courier, high school counselor, scientific illustrator and book illustrator to support her passion. Along the way she managed to earn degrees in fine art, anthropology and psychology.  In the 90s she was the curator and organizer of a local art show entitled “Made in America” featuring Asian American artists at the Ink People Gallery in Eureka. Her work has been seen in Bay Area galleries including the Canessa Gallery, Claudia Chapline Gallery and the San Francisco MOMA Rental Gallery. Other exhibitions include the John Natsoulas Gallery in Davis, the Brand Library Works on Paper National Juried Show in Glendale, Ca., the Arts Guild of Sonoma, the Marin Society of Artists Gallery in San Rafael, the Highland Art Center in Weaverville and the Morris Graves Museum in Humboldt County. Her paintings have been included in International and National juried exhibitions and have been the recipient of numerous awards. Since she lives in Humboldt County on a couple of acres in the redwoods, she prefers to show her work on the West Coast - most of her work can be found in corporate, public and private collections.   Karla is a third generation Japanese-Korean American. Her father was interned at Manzanar during World War Two and her mother grew up in Hawaii. Favorite painters are J. M. W. Turner,  Claude Monet and Joseph Raffael. Hobbies include watching basketball and spending time with Bodie, the Aussie Shepherd, and cats, Spooky and Milo.