Karen Young

 Young is celebrating her 25th year participating at the prestigious Western Art Week in Great Falls.  Young's goal in her work is  to inspire all who see her work to reconnect with nature and the tranquil beauty that surrounds us. She has captured the beauty of Montana in her realistic style using oil paint.

Young grew up on a working ranch in Texas. Living on a ranch, there was always an abundance of horses to ride. Her passion for the horses grew along with her passion to sketch them. The transition from sketching them to painting them in oil came naturally to her.  

“As life sometimes goes, my pursuits changed to a working career, getting married and raising our daughter. Before moving to Montana, I worked for the famous race car driver/designer, Carroll Shelby, managing the books for his ranch in East Texas. Working for him was always exciting. From playing with miniature horses to driving big horsepower cars like the Shelby Mustang and some of the one-of-a-kind concept vehicles. My most memorable event there was getting to ride in his 1965 427 Cobra.”  Young shares with us.

She always knew she wanted to be an artist and brings her passion for life into her work. She is living her dreams as a full-time artist here in the mountains of Montana.   She lives on an equine estate here in the Flathead Valley with views of Glacier Park, Big Mountain, their pastures and horse arenas. She enjoys working in her studio and looking out the window to see her horses, Skeeter, Sunny and Marty. She feels blessed to be surrounded by so much inspiration for the work in this exhibit.