Karen Tarlton was born in 1965 in Riverside, California. During childhood, her family moved frequently, finally settling in beautiful Lake Tahoe. Even as a child, Karen saw beauty in everything and spent many hours drawing and painting the world around her. In high school in 1981, she met her husband and they attended The University of California at Davis, where she took her very first art classes. Karen began her art career after her husband joined the Air Force and they travelled from city to city for 23 years. Traveling greatly influenced her art; she has painted every place they lived.

Although painting is her passion, family is her blessing and joy. Now married for over 24 years with two gifted daughters she takes her family to every artful outing possible. Because “a thing of beauty is a joy forever,” Karen aims to create scenes which reminiscent of a special time or place in your life.

"In every aspect of every painting there are two things that are important to me: The first is the power of expression, style and quality, and the second is that my art needs to make people happy. I also believe the role of an artist - in any medium - is to call attention to subjects and moments that often go unnoticed. When I paint, it is because something has evoked in me a highly personal response that I try to share with others. When people view my paintings, I hope they are encouraged to think and feel with more introspection." – Karen Tarlton