Karen Popham

Karen Popham accepted her first commission to paint someone’s portrait when she was fourteen. On leaving school she went to the Central School of Art and Design, now Central St. Martins, in London and has worked as an artist ever since. During this time, she has exhibited widely in her own One Man shows as well as public exhibitions such as the Royal Academy, the Royal Festival Hall, the Dulwich Picture Gallery, the Royal Western Academy, the Mall Galleries and the Brownston Gallery.

In 2023 Karen received a Stanley Grimm Award from the Royal Institute of Oil Painters for most popular painting as chosen by the public: on the strength of this she was invited to exhibit in the Mall Galleries “Beyond the Prize” exhibition. Karen has been Resident Artist at the Reform Club in Pall Mall, the Laban Centre Ballet School and the Lost Gardens of Heligan. She has also illustrated many children’s books, two of which were for Heligan (“The Mud Maid” and “The Giant”) .

In 2021 Karen returned to the West Country and now has her studio in Buckfastleigh. She is an active member of SWAc and of Salcombe Art Club where she teaches regularly.