Suffolk-based portrait artist Karen Turner is a big fan of defying convention. She focuses on the physical bodies of her ample-proportioned female subjects, and the scrutiny and comment to which they are often subjected. She says her paintings are about and for people tired of shrinking themselves to fit.

Turner’s art career began after 25 years of trying to fit into the corporate world. Boy, can I relate to that! After witnessing and being subject to society’s discrimination against fat bodies, she felt the need to normalize and even celebrate larger women.

“…My work concentrates on women and is a commentary on the weight of expectations placed on the female sex. With a particular focus on the physical body and the scrutiny to which is it commonly subjected, my oil paintings explore what society expects of a woman, the ways in which her physical shape is often considered to define her, and the impact that this has on her life and sense of self. Leaving bare much of the clear-primed linen canvas, I place my sitters front and centre and depict them devoid of surroundings to represent the way in which women, their choices and their bodies are so often judged without context. Sometimes my figures are close cropped to represent the direct scrutiny a woman’s body is regularly placed under, judged not only on its ability to look pleasing, but also on its ability to live up to expectations around reproduction and motherhood. Much of my work is inspired by historical representations of the female nude, and I like to subvert these portrayals of womanhood – sometimes depicting an ‘imperfect’ body in a traditionally Romantic pose, or replacing a nubile young Mid-Century pin up with an altogether fleshier model. I work in oils without medium and wet on wet, applying very thin layers with a fine brush in order to achieve a delicately blended end result. Colour is crucial as I seek to highlight pigments in the skin that can often go unnoticed, emphasizing and sometimes exaggerating them in order that I might accentuate their beauty.”

You can see all of Karen Turner’s magnificent work on her website and on Instagram .