Karoline Gabel

Karoline Gabel grew up in the northern part of Jutland, Denmark, close to the sea, where shifting weather and raw nature formed an early influence on her work. Inspired by the colours, patterns and materials from her surroundings, she developed a way of observing that continues to inform her art today. What began as an attempt to draw the world as accurately as possible gradually shifted towards creating her own images, rooted in memory, imagination and lived experience.

“My art is very much inspired by nature. The biggest artist of all time is Mother Nature, after all,” she says. This connection to the natural world continues to inform her art today, both in subject matter and in how she approaches colour and composition. She later moved to Copenhagen to study art history and design, bringing this perspective with her as she developed her practice further.

Colour and Composition

Working primarily with oil pastels across paper, linen and fabric, Karoline builds her images through a direct and immediate process. Ideas often begin during walks or runs, shaped by observations of trees, water and light, and are translated quickly into sketches before developing into finished works.

Colour plays a defining role from the outset. “I often choose the colours for a piece before I start it,” she explains, approaching colour as both structure and atmosphere. Her compositions frequently feature recurring elements such as a warm sun with radiating arms, appearing across landscapes of sea, hills and fields. These motifs, combined with fluid, imagined environments, create scenes that feel both observed and constructed.