Karen Wheeler paints for hundreds of hours on a single piece
The Winfield-born artist, who has spinal muscular atrophy, spends 150 to 500 hours on each painting.
By Loretta Vance
Karen Wheeler was born in Winfield in 1955 with spinal muscular atrophy. Doctors told her parents she would not live past a year.
She started making art at 5, she has said, because she could not play outside. She went on to Santa Ana College and California State University, Fullerton, where she earned a master’s degree in art in 1981 with a 4.0 grade point average.
Wheeler uses a technique she calls layering: a small brush and very little pigment, building a dry-brush effect that looks like colored pencil. She designed a sling-like device for her arm that helps her hold her tools. Each painting takes 150 to 500 hours.
She served on the board of Very Special Arts California from 1985 to 1992 and remains an honorary board member.