“I dream in black and white! This is the inspiration for my signature black and white X-acto Knife cut-outs.” - Karen Y. Buster. Karen’s grandmother always said, “when you dream, it’s God that’s talking to you”. 

Baltimore, Maryland native Karen Y. Buster was reared in a private artist colony – her childhood home. Karen was blessed to have grown up in a household that encouraged creativity and recognized the source of her art, which is a gift from a higher power. Her mother told her as a child she was gifted and different. More importantly, Karen believed it too! The movement in Karen’s work can be traced to her decade long residency in New Orleans from 1977-1987. During this period, Karen studied and graduated from Dillard University. Karen believes the music and sexy, seductive nature of New Orleans seeps into and inspires her art. Karen’s journey to the world of fine arts came via her t-shirt design business called Bustertizin. She doesn’t take her transition from t-shirts to 35 plus years creating fine art originals and prints for granted.

Originals of Karen Y. Buster are in the private celebrity collections of Queen Latifah, Denzel Washington, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Toni Braxton, Jada Pinkett Smith, Charles Dutton and many others. Karen is also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. since 1978.