GREEN Door is one of the most respected art groups in the region.

A self-managed, not-for-profit artists’ co-operative based in South Lakeland, the GD 'school of art' is home to an expansive and exciting mix of creativity.

Often members stage solo exhibitions - Karen Lester being the latest with a new body of work, Landscapes and Flowers in Pastel and Print, running at Low Sizergh Barn, near Kendal, until December 15.

The natural landscape has recently become the focus of Karen's work, and in this exhibition, she's been inspired by the forms of the fells and trees, and the colours of stone, in and out of water.

“I enjoy experimenting and working with different media, including printmaking,” explains Karen, whose based at Lindale. “I’m drawn to the vibrant colours of soft pastel for my landscape paintings while I find the quality of marks made in the process of printmaking particularly fascinating."

All her prints are hand crafted using etched plates, some using natural material directly, which are then inked and printed through a press.

The Manchester born artist teaches art for adult education classes in Lancashire and has just started teaching printmaking and drawing classes at Kendal's Brewery Arts Centre.

"My background is finance and admin though I've been painting and drawing for as long as I can remember. Art was a favourite subject at school and something I've been involved with for years."

However, Karen's true creative calling only came in 2009, following redundancy. As a result she started to work towards a change of career that embraced art.

"I'm teaching art at the moment and plan to spend time on projects creating more of my own work. I've lots of ideas, including coastal projects and recording the past through images and would like to develop my practice through experimentation."

Karen completed a foundation degree with the University of Cumbria in 2011 followed by a teaching course. It was while she was at college that she really started to develop her printmaking, using printed images in installation work and experimenting with techniques such as sandblasting Perspex plates for printing.

She adds: "I find the quality of marks made in the processes of print making particularly fascinating and produce prints inspired by different sources from the Cumbrian landscapes to the styles of 1970s, the taxidermy collections at Kendal Museum and the natural world. It's never certain just how a print will turn out and it's this element of surprise that's exciting."

Karen's works have featured in Ulverston's acclaimed Printfest, the mammoth C-Art and she's run workshops at Grasmere's Allan Bank; she's holding a Print your own Christmas Cards workshop there on November 12.

"I use a variety of media. I am drawn to the landscape; water is a particular favourite. I like to explore colour though paint and print.

She was also thrilled to feature in this year's Go Herdwick project for the Calvert Trust, creating two sheep for Windermere Lake Cruises and a Lamb for Brysons Tea Rooms, Bowness: "The project raised a lot of money and while it was a challenge having the sheep in my kitchen it was good fun and made a lot of people smile."