Houma artist uses painting technique to create dreamy scenes that entice the imagination

Imagine laying in the grass behind your grandparents' house on a fall afternoon, staring at the sky and determining the shapes of the clouds as they pass overhead. Is that cloud a turtle or a dragon? A flower or a crawfish? The sun is beginning to set and the clouds are now swirling in a sky that is transitioning from a light blue to vibrant purples, yellows, and oranges.

Houma artist Karen Bordok has been recreating a similar feeling with some of her most recent paintings using an acrylic pour technique, a method she began using earlier this year. Some of these paintings are left in a more abstract state, keeping the focus on the colors and textures. Others highlight figures, whether it be birds, flowers or sea creatures that seemingly emerge from the paint swirls and bubbles.

"I love it. I've painted in pretty much every medium except airbrush, but I just like doing new things and, you know, trying everything," Bordok said.

Bordok started drawing and painting as a child. But her art making slowed as she started working and building a family. However, in 1991 she suffered a back injury in an accident that left her unable to work for a while. She was getting depressed and was in pain, she said, so she returned to painting and hasn't stopped since. Similar to how art helped her after the accident, Bordok said, painting has helped her deal with the stress and chaos after Hurricane Ida.

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"It's helped me get through it because the first few weeks were crazy and, well, I couldn't paint. Of course, the first few weeks you spent all of your time on the phone and cleaning up and everything, but since I've been able to paint, like on my days off I've been painting, I've been heavily into it," said Bordok, who works as a hotel clerk.

Bordok is a member of the Terrebonne Fine Arts Guild and has been leading its children's summer art camp for eight to 10 years. She has experience with a variety of painting media and is known for bayou scenes and architecture, pets, flowers and wildlife. Her art can be found for sale at the guild's gallery, 630 Belanger St. in Houma, and she gladly takes commissions. 

To see more of Bordok's paintings, visit her Facebook page at facebook.com/karenscajunart/.

Know an artist we should profile?

This story is part of an ongoing profile series to showcase the artistic talents in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes. If you are an artist or would like to suggest an artist for a future profile, please contact reporter Emily Enfinger at eenfinger@gannett.com.

-- Emily Enfinger is a reporter for The Courier and the Daily Comet. Follow her on Twitter at @EmilyEnfinger. Email Emily at eenfinger@gannett.com.