Chattanooga-based artist Karen Martin creates contemporary works in acrylic and mixed media that speak in color, texture, and story. A self-taught artist, she has cultivated a visual language rooted in bold saturation and intuitive mark-making—work that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant. Her paintings are guided by a belief in art’s quiet power to connect us, to stir something felt before it is understood.

At the center of Martin’s works are women’s faces—expressive, luminous, and alive with untold stories. Each portrait is an invitation: to pause, to look closer, and to listen. These women are crowned with confidence, resilience, grace, and self-worth. They carry the weight of experience and the light of becoming. Their gaze reflects strength earned, softness preserved, and beauty defined on their own terms.

Martin paints for the recognition of others when they see themselves reflected back. Her vibrant compositions captivate the eye, but it is their emotional honesty that lingers, sparking reflection and dialogue long after the first glance.

Her work has been exhibited throughout Chattanooga and Knoxville, including a solo exhibition at Memorial hospital and an AVA group exhibition there. She has been a part of an Erlanger juried exhibition and the Creative Arts Guild Fest juried exhibition. She recently was chosen to be in an exhibition in Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon’s office. Her work continues to hang in galleries in Chattanooga, Knoxville and throughout the South.