THE EXPLORER’S DAUGHTER

I was 10 months old when my parents took me to live with a remote tribe of Inuit for over two years on a tiny, remote island in the High Arctic.

We returned several times as I was growing up, and each time I observed and learned more about how the Inuit respect nature’s power and its profound ability to teach, heal, and guide.

Back in the UK, though, I became part of the system like everyone else. Always creative, I went to art school and got my bachelor’s degree in art, travelled the world as a travel writer and became a published author.

My first book, The Explorer's Daughter, published by Penguin, was aired as ‘Book of the Week’ on BBC Radio 4. It was the first of many. I founded a publishing company too that produced stunning books on adventure, photography and visual culture.

FROM BURNOUT TO PURPOSE

Although I have always sought out wild and beautiful places, I became drawn into the noise and rush of everyday life. Although I loved my work and my busy life, I was wearing myself thin; I suffered burn-out and then had to adjust to living with chronic fatigue.

It was the simple act of being quiet in nature that called me back.

Slowly, but surely, I remembered how nature can heal. I remembered my
connection with wild places and the respectful, humble way in which the Inuit walk with their environment and the wildlife they share it with.

I returned to my mindfulness practices and, finally, picked up a paintbrush. It was a huge turning point. I felt as though I was seeing the world in colour for the first time in many years.

Now my art and mindfulness practices are an essential part of my daily life. Both bring me great peace and help me to feel both more resilient and hopeful in our turbulent world.

I try to capture that feeling of connection in every brushstroke so that others can also reconnect with that sense of calm and wonder that is all around us, if we take the time to look.

I feel most alive when my hair is being tugged by the wind and my cheeks are smarting from a wintry squall; when I can feel the pulse of the land beneath my feet and perhaps taste the tang of sea salt on my lips; when I can drink in the sounds of the birds, animals and insects simply being all that they are in the present moment. These are the moments that bring me back to myself.

Creating art for me is a form of meditation: a way of being awake to the world and one's emotional response to it. There’s an intimacy in this conversation with place, in a language we can all understand.

My artworks are an invitation to pause, reflect, and be reminded of the immense resilience, abundance, wonder, strength, tranquility and nourishment that can be found in the landscape around us.

My aim is to create beautiful, complex pieces that uplift and evoke a sense of deep calm. They are a reminder to me too, of the urgent necessity to honour, care-for and preserve the habitats and ecosystems that sustain all life.

Today, I balance my time between creating paintings, illustrating and writing books, guiding folks to the polar regions and taking individuals and groups through creative mindfulness practices in nature to create a deep sense of peace, connection and fulfillment in their everyday lives.

If you'd like to hear more about creative mindfulness, go here.

I am so happy you stopped by. I hope you can find a piece of art that you love here, whether it's a print or original by myself, or a print by my extremely talented dad.

If you'd rather commission something that is personal to you, then do get in touch or have a look at my commission page.

With warm wishes,

Kari