About

Karol Oakley an international pastel artist who is know best for her paintings of water. She has a continuing curiosity to paint water from the coast to the creeks inland, to create fresh and unique artwork about the movement of water and its effect on the surrounding landscape. This curiosity is over 30 years old and fires her imagination giving expression to Karol's skilled representational style artworks.
A dedicated "en plein-air" painter, Karol can be found in the great outdoors anywhere in the world. Landscape and boats are subjects she enjoys, finding freshness in the beauty of nature. Being out in Nature, living the environment as she paints it, is to Karol, the magic of painting.

Studio work takes place in summer when the weather is against the fair and freckled being outside. This is when Karol turns to Still Life as her subject and does the big annual clean out of the studio. Summer is also the wet season in Queensland Australia so it becomes planning time for all the upcoming workshops, both live ones and online.

During the year art groups invite Karol to come teach with many repeat workshops and tours across Australia and Greece. Karol loves talking and demonstrating pastel and painting methods. The ah ha moments, meeting like-minded people and being able to give confidence to other artists is why Karol loves teaching pastel. She is the winner of the Pastellist of the Year Award in 2014, amongst many other awards both international and national. Oh yes, Karol is a longtime Master Pastellist with the Pastel Society of Australia.

When it's all said and done, it's all about the painting, teaching and travel that inspires Karol Oakley.

The Short Version: Karol Oakley career highlights

Member of: AGRA Australian Guild of Realist Artists, NAVA: National Association of Visual Artists, RQAS: Royal Queensland Art Society, PSA: Pastel Society of Australia, IAPS: International Association of pastel Societies, PSSC: Pastel Society of Southern California
Finalist 2016,17,18 AGRA Australian Arts Excellence Awards
Pastellist of the Year 2014 PSAustralia
International Tutor and Artist
Multi award winning artist
Works in private collections in Australia, USA Europe, Asia
Works in public collections in Australia
Solo shows
Group exhibitions
Published articles in Australian Artist magazine, AGRA and PSA Newsletters
Painting Tutor and Tour leader many times to Greece and Norfolk Island
McGregor Summer School Tutor 2010-2014
Plein-air Convention Monteray California 2015
Invited Entrant 5 day Plein-air Event California 2017
IAPS Convention Albuquerque New Mexico 2017
Exhibition Artist IAPS 2017
Artist in Residence 2018 Hahndorf, South Australia, April/May
Invited tutor at the Inaugural Australian Pastel Expo 2018
Course Creator at The Online Pastel Learning website 2018 continuing.
President Pastel Society of Australia 2019 - 2021
Australian Pastel Exposition Committee 2018 - 2020
Founder of The Online Art Society 2019 - continuing
Course Creator and teacher at Pastel Adventures 2021

"Just Dreaming" Best in Show and winner of the (AGRA) Australian Guild of Realist Artists Summer Seasonal Exhibition 2016
SOLD

The Painting above is
"Rhythm of Life" Karol Oakley's pastel painting accepted into the IAPS 2017 Juried Exhibition.

KAROL OAKLEY
Master Pastellist, Pastel Society of Australia

Paint | Travel | Teach

"... paint to travel and travel to paint" Ethel Carrick Fox
Karol Oakley has the motto Paint, Travel, Teach after the words of Ethel Carrick Fox. For most of Karol's year is travelling to teach and paint; and with so many places to experience and share her knowledge, she is often on the road.

About Karol:
Karol is a member of the Pastel Society of Australia (PSA) and a Master Pastellist of over 20 years. At the PSA Annual exhibition and Awards, Karol’s painting won Best in Show and was awarded Pastellist of the year 2014. The winning pastel painting is titled “Vincent Van Spot – When”. She is also a member of the Australian Guild of Realist Artists (AGRA) and the Pastel Society of Southern California. Karol was awarded a scholarship with the Pastel Society of America for 2010/2011.

Painting with the pastel medium for over 30 years, Karol Oakley has won many awards for her vibrant realist style pastel paintings, with works held in public and private collections, both in Australia and overseas. She also creates paintings in other mediums, with the natural environment and man's identity within it, her favourite theme.

Karol paints from life and in the great outdoors/en plein-air as much possible, developing her skills and knowledge. In April 2015 Karol was in Monterey, California, attending the Plein air Convention and Expo, learning form the greats such as Albert Handell and C.W.Mundy.

The Biannual IAPS(International Association of Pastel Societies) Convention and Exhibition was held in Albuquerque New Mexico in 2017. Karol attended and had the honour of having her painting "Rhythm of Life" accepted and hung in the 30th World Juried Exhibition.

Articles about painting by Karol Oakley have been published many times in Australian Artist Magazine. Other publications include The Pastellist International, The Pastel Society of Australia Newsletter and Hues Magazine from the Australian Guild of Realist Artists.

As a popular and sought after tutor, Karol has tutored regularly at the University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, McGregor Summer School. Throughout the year Karol is invited to art groups/societies, teaching workshops and demonstrating pastel painting. May 2015 Karol was back to the Greek Islands tutoring another magical painting holiday while in 2016 she was at Norfolk Island again teaching a painting holiday.

A first for Karol is the newly completed Artist in Residence programme she created at Hahndorf in South Australia. This was six weeks of painting in the footsteps of Hans Heysen, in collaboration with the Hahndorf Academy. Her work was exhibited as it was created. Karol also engaged the local art community in a weekly Art and Coffee morning to sketch and chat. While the area Karol explored places, experiencing and painting the colours of Autumn both en plein air and in the studio at the Hahndorf Academy.

Karol Oakley is an artist with an ambition to paint the visual truth, to paint a representation of the subject matter showing her reaction to the mood, light, texture and colour. Her subjects are from nature and it is this world that Karol presents to you in her paintings; most of which are painted from life, either outdoors or in the studio. Original paintings can be viewed on Karol’s web site and on Facebook.

Gallery outlet:
Hiring.😃