Local artist, Karen Wride, has taken the brave plunge in these uncertain times and opened her own art gallery. The First Class Art gallery will feature her own work and those of her daughters, Lidija (known on Instagram as Li.Di8) and Bianca (known on Instagram as miss_me_Bianca), both also professional artists.
Early last year, during the first COVID-19 lockdown, Karen created a painting depicting the joy of life here in the Algarve, which she donated to Hospital Particular in Alvor, where it is proudly displayed in the reception area. Her motivation for the project – a montage of everything that draws so many people to this beautiful part of the world – was to try to give those waiting in line to see a doctor something interesting and entertaining to look at.
Karen describes her style as contemporary eclectic impressionism, with the expressive human form featuring in many of her pieces. Many of her followers and collectors are drawn by the play of light and the descriptive time capsules that she manages to bring in to her work.
Karen also runs very popular art classes from her studio behind the gallery. “My classes are open to all painting abilities, so whether you are totally new to oil painting or would like to ‘brush up’ on your techniques, this is the place for you! Plus, they have a maximum of three people, so there is plenty of space between the easels and lots of one-on-one tutoring, but also time for yourself, so everyone can work at their own pace and on their own projects”, Karen tells us.
The gallery, which can be found on Google Maps, is based in Guia, just off the EN125 near Algarve Shopping , with easy parking right outside. It’s open Monday to Friday, from 10am to 2pm and other times by appointment.
(+351) 917 081 893
[email protected] | www.first-class-art.com
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