Biography

Growing up in Jamaica, she watched her father hand-paint business signs in their local community, long before digital printing became the norm. He gave her her first set of acrylic paints when she was in kindergarten, and it was then that she first understood the power of creating something with her own hands. Her earliest experiments were playful and instinctive, painting flowers on classmates’ nails using blades of grass, often in exchange for a few sweets. The joy of making was simple, but deeply formative.

Although creativity was always present, life initially led her in other directions. Drawn to structure and design, Karla set out to become an architect. She studied technical drawing and later earned a degree in Construction Management in Jamaica. When she relocated to the Netherlands, her interests expanded further into storytelling, design, and communication, leading her to complete a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Business. This shift allowed her to explore creativity not only as expression, but as a way of shaping meaning and connection.

In 2018, Karla reconnected with painting. What began as a quiet return to an old love soon became a vital form of expression. By 2020, painting had become a way to process emotion, uncertainty, and transformation. Through the act of making, she found clarity, each stroke offering space to reflect, to feel, and to understand the world around her.

Today, her work moves between acrylic painting, digitally painted works, poetry, and mixed media. While her practice has evolved, the core remains the same: a belief in art as a vessel for storytelling, healing, and awareness. Her work is deeply informed by care for people and planet, and by a desire to create space for stories that deserve to be seen, felt, and held.