CATHERINE ANN VELASCO: The Journal Times: Metro: Clouds Of Hope: Artist’s Gift Provides Light : Thursday September 26, 1996

Like Michelangelo who painted the ceiling at the Sistine Chapel, Karen Gunderson has left a gift of art to her church- in her case, clouds.

The green stucco behind the altar has been replaced with a world of light and shadows at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 2219 Washington Ave.

“I’m really excited. It’s amazing.  I can’t believe it really has happened,” she said.  “It’s about light.  Light is hope.  Light is spirit.”

For more than 30 years, Gunderson, 53, a Racine native now of Manhattan, has made a career out of painting clouds.

Gunderson, who has had her work shown in acclaimed galleries, reached toward the sky to fulfill a dream: She has painted clouds for Racine.

The piece features a tower of clouds about 10 feet high with a pale blue sky above it.  The wall is about 20 feet long and 14 feet high.

But it wasn’t easy.  Gunderson completed the painting on July 2, but when she saw it again the next day – she knew it was wring.

“It was too complicated.  It was too tight.  I worked on it too much,” she said.

So she started over by scraping the paint off the linen, and trying again.

“I worked 12-hour days to get it done.  I worked from July 3 to Aug. 14.  I wanted to get it done by the 100th anniversary this weekend,” she said