KAREN HULL
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
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Karen is an award winning full-time artist and illustrator. Born in Melbourne Australia in 1965, Karen loved to draw as a child, but a career in nursing and raising her four sons, left little time for art. After a family holiday to Tasmania in 2007, Karen felt driven to reconnect with her early love for art and whilst she dabbled in the full range of mediums, she always comes back to her first love – coloured pencils. As the demand for her highly detailed artworks increased, she decided in 2009 to have a break from nursing to pursue art on a full-time basis and has never looked back.
Karen’s artworks are realistic but often with a touch of quirkiness or humour. They invite the viewer to come closer and perhaps to leave with a smile upon their face. Her artworks can be found in private collections around the world and she is in constant demand for commissions.
Her first children’s picture book ‘Let’s Count Kisses’ was published by Hachette Australia in May 2012 and her second book ‘Love You, Mum’ was published in May 2014. Her artworks can also be found on a range of commemorative coins commissioned by Coin Club Australia.
Karen sells a comprehensive range of step by step drawing tutorials from her website at www.miniatureartbykhull.com
Website: as above or www.karenhullart.com
Facebook pages: https://www.facebook.com/KarenHullArt
https://www.facebook.com/beautifulhumanlandscapes
Instagram account: http://instagram.com/karenhullart
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/karenhullart/
You tube cannel: https://www.youtube.com/user/KarenHullArt
ARTIST'S REASON FOR PARTICIPATING
I chose Bunga for my artwork because something in her face looked so beseeching and really spoke to me, as though she was begging on behalf of all Orang-utans for us to help them in their plight.
BUNGA
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“The Cheeky Little Sister of the Forest”
Bunga, whose name means "flower" in Indonesian, bloomed into the hearts of the IAR team when she arrived at the Centre in West Kalimantan in November 2009. At just 2½ years old, she was handed over by a family who claimed to have “found” her three months earlier. Like so many rescued orangutans, her earliest days were spent in a cage in someone’s backyard—a heartbreaking reality for many young orphans in Borneo.
Upon arrival, Bunga was cautious and clung closely to her caregivers. But everything changed when she met Cinta, another young female rescued a few months later. The two girls became inseparable, learning to climb, explore, and thrive together in the safe spaces of IAR’s forest school and play areas.
Bunga faced early health challenges, suffering from recurrent fevers and a weakened immune system, likely the result of stress and malnutrition from her time in captivity. But with attentive care and a healthy diet, she soon bounced back. Always the smallest in her group, Bunga adopted the role of the cheeky little sister—playful, curious, and endlessly endearing. She became well-known for roping her orangutan friends into games, mischief, and treetop adventures.
Today, Bunga lives on Pak Ali Island, a pre-release site where she practices the survival skills essential for rewilding. She excels in foraging, nest building, and gets along famously with housemates. With her signature spunky spirit and ever-blooming personality, Bunga is preparing for a life back in the wild—where she belongs.
