Karen Rudat has always been an artist at heart, and she made the decorative arts a fulltime endeavor in 1999. Classically trained as an oil painter, she has studied decorative painting, faux finishing, classical ornamentation, and furniture finishing. She is skilled at color theory, and heads a team of fellow artists and artisans who can undertake projects varying in scope from single rooms to large commercial jobs. Art was not her first career choice, but it was always her passion. Even while working as a registered nurse or utilizing her MBA as a healthcare administrator, Karen studied art, photography, and printmaking. Weekends and evenings were always spent painting or working on some project. She has remodeled, painted and decorated her own homes since the early 1980's. But as a new widow in 1999, she decided to make a profession out of what was a pastime.

She spent three years as a partner in K&P Interiors, LLC, and has worked on her own since 2003. During that time, Karen has established a reputation for attention to detail, quality work, excellent color sense, and ability to communicate a vision. She inspires loyalty in her subcontractors: she has had the same painters working with her for more than 5 years. Even artisans who have left her and gone out on their own work with her when the size of the job requires it, and she maintains a cordial relationship with her former partner, referring work and sharing equipment.

Karen spent two years as the in-house artist for Renaissance Art Wholesalers, painting commissioned works on canvas, including copies of old masters, impressionist works, original abstracts, animal and wildlife paintings, portraits, landscapes and architectural works. This work refined her ability to paint to deadline in different styles, since commissions were often to paint companion pieces to client's existing paintings.