KALLENA - Karen Chutsky Naud

Kallena-Karen Chutsky Naud is a noted commercial and fine artist who began creating at the age of 6 painting murals on the walls of her family’s home in New Jersey, her formal art training initiated in pastel and watercolor at age 9 at the Montclair Art Museum in New Jersey and the York Art Association of Maine.

Karen studied Fine Art at Pennsylvania State University and the famed Arts Student League of New York City where she “fell in love with designing fabrics.” She then received her AAS degree in Textile Design at FIT, the Fashion Institute of Technology, in the center of the garment district in NYC, going on to win several fabric design awards in the Textile Industry including the Gold Medal Award – Achievement in Textile Design, the National Drapery and Curtain Association Award and the Milliken Award to name a few.

It was during this time she worked in Interior Design, opening her own Home Furnishing Fabric company- Kallena Designs -with a line of her silkscreened fabrics for Home Furnishings as well as home products printed in her factory in Ramsey, New Jersey, sold at her retail outlet store in the Fashion Center Paramus Mall anchored by Lord and Taylor department store while also creating Graphic Designs for multiple Corporate Clients Print materials.

Karen later moved to Los Angeles, CA to train for animation with Disney. This led to a Film Career in Animation, Storyboarding and Film Production Design. Currently she is Producing Television Shows and Musicals. While in CA, she authored a Historical Novel, THE BOY FROM TENNESSEE/YOUNG DAVY CROCKETT, wrote reviews for online book review sites, and penned a weekly movie review column for a regional Los Angeles newspaper.

Throughout her commercial career she has exhibited her chalk pastel and watercolor paintings in New England, California and is represented in collections Internationally. “Chalk pastel is my favorite medium because it’s quick and energetic, shows off an artist’s strong drawing hand with a lovely palette of colors laid out before you to pick and choose, sketch and smear, all with your fingers rather than a brush, giving it a more sculptural feel. I’m always amazed at how just a few strokes can create so much life on a piece of paper.”

The best perk of being an artist - having the mindset of being creative with life as well as art. It all feels like a big adventure, a movie in the making.