Karen d'Angeac Mihm

I was born in the sunlit town of Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, and my artistic sensibility was shaped by a childhood spent between France, England, and eventually North Carolina, where my family settled when I was fourteen. Those early experiences gave me a deep appreciation for both landscape and architecture, subjects that continue to inspire my work today.

My path to painting was not a direct one. I studied accounting in college, but years later, while raising my children, I felt drawn back to creativity and began painting seriously. What started as a personal need for artistic expression quickly became a lifelong passion. I eventually studied at a traditional atelier in Wisconsin, where I developed a strong foundation in drawing, composition, and oil painting.

Today, I work primarily in oils, often beginning with a value underpainting in earth tones or greys before slowly building layers of color and atmosphere. I’m drawn less to detail for its own sake and more to the feeling of a place, the softness of evening light across water, the quiet stillness of a landscape, or the sense of calm a painting can bring to a room.

Now living on the shores of Lake Butte des Morts in Wisconsin, much of my recent work has centered around Midwestern lakes and waterways. The changing reflections, shifting seasons, and peaceful rhythm of life near the water continue to inspire me daily. Whether painting a quiet lake at dusk, flowers gathered in summer, or memories of Europe, I hope my work offers a moment of beauty, calm, and pause in an often busy world.