Karen Steffano Art Contemporary & Landscape Paintings
Who I Am
I fell in love with art at age eight because of a pony named Master Jack. By 14, I was winning art competitions in the Sunday Times newspaper. I studied Fine Art at Wits, received a merit award at Sasol New Signatures, and had work selected for the Gertrude Posel Gallery student exhibition.
Then I stopped for twenty years. In 2006, I came back to painting. Something essential was missing without it.
My practice spans two distinct territories: impressionist landscapes from my own photographs taken on hikes across South Africa, and contemporary animal paintings exploring wild nature reclaiming human domestic spaces.
Featured Work
USURPER – WOLF ON VICTORIAN COUCH – Original
“This piece examines the moment civilization meets wilderness. Using careful rendering to depict a scene that shouldn’t exist—but captivates precisely because it might. A wild wolf looking perfectly content on a Victorian couch. Three months of work exploring the tension between the domestic and the untamed.”
Original painting, oil on canvas. 101cm x 76cm.
R12,000
KLIPRIVIERSBERG IN SPRING – Original
“Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve in spring—where I hike constantly. The light breaking through the acacia trees, the red earth, the sense of peace in this familiar landscape. These tiny paintings capture moments I return to again and again, places that have shaped how I see.”
Original painting, oil on canvas. 10cm x 15cm with frame.
R1,300
ELAND’S VALLEY LAKE – Original
“Painted during a hike in the Drakensberg. This tiny landscape captures a moment of stillness—the water reflecting sky, the subtle shifts in green across the hills. These miniature paintings are born from intimate moments in nature that stop you mid-step.”
Original painting, oil on canvas. 10cm x 15cm with frame.
R1,300