Karen Rogers is the great grand-daughter of composer, conductor and band-leader George Hammond was one of the 20,000 Chinese diaspora who came to Queensland in 1865. He and his English born wife settled in Barcaldine at the time of its founding, running one of the hotels and a general outfitters. George’s musical instruction resulted in all thirteen children playing musical instruments and forming the Rosie Waters Orchestra. Karen’s grandmother being one of the vioinists and vocalists in the string section and the boys playing percussion and bass. Together they formed the Rosie Waters Orchestra were prominent musicians for Rockhampton Civic Bands for public ceremonies. George wrote scores for marching bands. Karen’s Grandmother wrote for and performed in a vaudevillian comedy troupe that played public and private performances in the flourishing Rockhampton musical scene of the Dame Nelly Melba era. Karen has lived mainly in London, running an award winning wine business together with her British husband, until returning to her native Queensland. Karen studied music and classical Italian singing under Wendy Gadian (director of RADA, London). Other artistic interests were well catered for there, including jewellery-making at St Martin’s College summer school and the craft of bookmaking at London’s oldest book restorers, Sheppards. Moving to Noosa in 2015, she took up painting and concentrated on still-life and portraiture after the primitivists which she discovered in Paris at an exhibition at the Gallery Lisset Alibert in Place des Vosges. Artists like Blanpain and Patrice Besso, who were based in the South of France at the time , were particularly inspiring. She is currently in an informal study group with 200 other artists under mentor and coach Pamela Caughey (MFA) and a founding member of her Art and Success Pro Group. She is collaborating with a group of 15 artists in Australia and New Zealand on a work entitled ‘Home” and intends to develop this into a series this year. Inspired by sailing the Queensland coast, Karen saw painting as a potential new outlet for artistic expression and uses photography and filmmaking to describe the wonderful hidden coves, islands and reefs she and her husband visit on their yacht “Island Girl”.