Karen Ösp Pálsdóttir received a BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2013. Karen Ösp Pálsdóttir has exhibited in solo exhibitions in Iceland and numerous group exhibitions in the US. Karen Ösp Pálsdóttir’s paintings investigate fractions of female subjects, rendered in Cobalt Blue oil paint. Adding a botanical element to the work using a collage-like approach, she crops the reference imagery of female subjects and overlays them with botanical compositions captured in nature. By painting botanical compositions in blue, Karen Ösp Pálsdóttir explores the historical context that early humans are considered not to have made distinctions between the colors green and blue due to the rarity of blue in nature. Accumulated layers of oil paint leave visible traces of the process while creating a life-like depth in the portraits.