Karen T. La Beau is a native of New Orleans that now resides in Shreveport, LA. She is a self-taught, third generation artist. Karen began drawing at the age of six. She began painting professionally in 2007. That is when she began her series, “My Life on Canvas.” She said, “I’ve chosen to tell my story through visual arts. To me, telling my history on canvas is far more interesting than writing it down on paper.” Karen is very active in the Shreveport community. Karen served on the board for the Highland Jazz and Blues Festival for five years. She is the coordinator for the Highland Open Studio Tours Sunday’s. It is entering into their 8th year. Because of Karen’s historical documentation on canvas, she was awarded the “Cultural Preservation Heritage Award” in New Orleans in September 2017. Shreveport Art’s Counsel awarded Karen La Beau the “Artist Fellowship Award” in December 2017. She was the recipient of the artistic merit award for the Red River Revel’s 42nd Annual Festival in 2017. Karen received an honorable mention for her submission to the Critical Mass Exhibition in 2018. Karen was featured on a local Shreveport news station for Black History Month in 2021. The segment was titled, “Standing on the Shoulders of Legends.” Recently, Karen was given the opportunity to share her grandfather story of his painting career in the form of a mural for Vaucresson’s Meat Market in New Orleans.