Karen Needle
Karen originally hails from Baltimore, Maryland and fell in love with oil painting at age nine. She was first commissioned for her portrait work at 15, and consequently won several awards at art shows. She’s done murals in homes, (both canvas and walls), embellished furniture and designed jewelry.
About Me
Karen’s other great loves are acting and singing, and at age 17, moved to New York to pursue the dream of performing on Broadway. She succeeded in that end, co-starring in the Tony Award winning Production of the revival “Death of a Salesman” starring opposite Dustin Hoffman, John Malkovich and Stephen Lang. She has toured the world singing on cruise ships and performing in many national tours, such as “Grease,” “Annie,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Oklahoma!” and many more.
She can also be seen in the film version of the Emmy Award winning CBS presentation of Death of a Salesman, and realized another dream working opposite the amazing Sean Connery and Dustin Hoffman in the film “Family Business”. Soap Opera fans of The Edge of Night may remember Karen as “Poppy Johnson” as well as guest starring on other television shows.
Karen brought her talent to the West Coast, moving there in 1992, where she landed a role in the original cast of “Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah.”
In addition to the performing arts, Karen started her own business, “Elite Audiences and Casting” from 1999-2020 where she filled seats for most of Los Angeles’s Court Shows, (Judge Judy, Hot Bench), sitcoms, game shows and events, such as Dick Clark’s “Rockin Eve”, as well as booking extras. Concurrently, Karen became an Associate Producer on The Judge Judy Program 2002-2007, working behind the scenes on the #1 rated daytime program. More recently, Karen utilized her expertise as an Associate Casting Producer on the CBS reality show, “Tough as Nails.”
Currently, her number one passion is painting, and sketching! Capturing the essence of a person is especially rewarding. She feels exhilarated to see her paintings “come to life”.
She is an avid world traveler and adventurer and many of her paintings subjects are derived taken from her photographs taken on her trips to India, Vietnam, Cambodia,
Machu Picchu, South Africa and others. While in Guatemala, she painted murals on the walls of an orphanage. The images expressed a joy and whimsy that brought smiles to the faces of the children, much to her gratification.
Color and art fill her spirit and she wants to bring that special style and essence to her client’s senses as well. Please reach out if you have any special occasion you would like to capture and commission, whether it be your favorite holiday photos, gifts for mother’s or father’s day, family photos or pets. Please provide a clear (high resolution) reference photo.
Karen has a full happy life with phenomenal friends and participates in an amazing spiritual community. Most importantly, she is extremely grateful and blessed as she embraces her creativity, which she enjoys sharing with others!
