About the Artist

 

Karis Funk has been a creative since childhood. She began with crafting, but was intrigued, even at a young age, by art and drawing. Her favourite gifts to receive were always markers and pencil crayons. In grade school, she was inspired by other artists in her life; from a childhood friend, to a middle school teacher, and often emulated their styles in order to learn techniques, and how to express herself.  Even at a young age, she wanted her art to encourage thinking outside the box, and finding happiness within, themes which both still stand true of her work today.

Karis is primarily self-taught, using the skills she learned in grade school art class, practicing regularly and later progressed to learning from tutorials on YouTube and Instagram. Her desire to hone her craft in a more structured setting brought her to the Mastery Program at Milan Art Institute at age 34, where she learned fine art, oil painting, mixed media and marketing.  

Karis’ art portrays powerful and majestic animals, often with aquatic themes to portray her deep love and respect for the ocean and how much of it there is yet to explore.  She also enjoys painting portraits, particularly women. Another theme that often comes up in her paintings is self-love, self discovery and adapting to inevitable change throughout life, while thriving to be the best versions of ourselves.

Now, Karis paints in her home studio in Southern Manitoba, where she lives with her dog, Scout and her cat, Oliver.  Her work brings playfulness, vibrancy and color through abstract backgrounds, adding complexity with texture and skill in the details.

Her work is featured in the Arts to Hearts Project 101 Art Book: Landscape Edition 2025 Exploring the Beauty and Power of Landscapes in Contemporary Art and has been in the auxiliary gallery at Cre8ery Gallery and Studio in Winnipeg, Manitoba.