Lars Erik Karlsen (født 1948) er Lofotværing. Temperamentet i naturen og livet langs kysten her nord passer hans eget. Skiftningene i kystlandskapet merkes spesielt godt, med sterke endringer i lys og mørke som preger årstidene. Karlsen har gjennom mange år utvikla en forenkla form og bruker sterke farger i tresnittene, slik at uttrykket blir energisk og direkte. - Dette passer til livet og landskapet her nord, sier han.  

Den lille, unnselige lundefuglen er ofte portrettert i Lars Erik Karlsen’s bilder. Den har hatt det tøft og bestanden har gått kraftig tilbake de siste tredve åra. Men en god del kommer fortsatt igjen, som et sikkert vårtegn i april.

Coastlife

Lars Erik Karlsen (born 1948) has lived most of his life in Lofoten. The character of the nature and the life along the coast here in the north suits his personality welll. The sudden variations in the landscape along the northern coast are strongly felt, particularly with the changes of light and darkness which mark the seasons. Through the years Karlsen has developed a simplified form and uses strong colours in his woodcuts, which gives a direct and energetic expression. – This fits the life and the landscape in the north, he says.
The small and bashful puffin is often portrayed in Karlsesn’s pictures. It has had a tough life and the stock has been seriously reduced the last thirty years. Nevertheless, quite a few puffins do return every year in April, as a sign of spring.