UNIQUE ANTIQUE

I have just completed painting this unique piece . It is an old metal hatbox and looks great with old bears painted all around the outside of the lid..A busy week with lots to get done before Christmas ..what happened to this year ?..looking forward to next year ...an even year with good vibes !

DOUBLE CLICK THE PHOTO TO ENLARGE...for enquires please contact Kathy kkaras@bigpond.net.au

RIVER REFLECTIONS

The "Plein Air Girls'

A friend and I took off for the day down to Nowra to organise the "PLEIN AIR GIRLS " exhibition scheduled for October 2010..It is quite exciting for us to be accepted to exhibit at the fabulous Shoalhaven City Arts Centre..I will post the invitation on the blog next year..you are all invited ! Our little painting group has expanded to about 16 members now of which 10 are exhibiting their paintings that are a result of our trips to NSW regions . We aim to arrange several painting trips a year to a diverse area ..from outback to coastal ..So far we have visited Glen Davis,the Colo River , Little Hartley in the Blue Mountains , Bundeena in the Royal National Park and Exeter on the Southern Highlands..Our next adventure is to Sofala near Hill End in the west of the state..so looking forward to a few days of uninterrupted painting with great companions..a few sips of bubbly at the end of the day and good food provided...

On the way back from the Shoalhaven we called into a horse stud where I know the manager to check out some good painting spots ..hope to get there this week if the weather clears..

FLAT OUT !

I haven't had anything to put on the blog lately ..not because I am not painting ..because I have been flat out painting lots of top secret stuff and because I am sworn to secrecy and I know that the wives, sons and daughters all watch this blog , I can't put them up for all to see..you will all just have to wait to see these lovely paintings until after the special occasions that they have been commissioned for .. the weather here has been pretty disgusting over the last few days..we had an unbelievable red dust storm on Tuesday and we are still trying to clean up ..

This painting is a pastel that I completed a couple of years ago ..I haven't done many pastels since but I really did enjoy painting with them ..

BEAUTIFUL ANTIQUE OAK SCHOOLCASE ..sorry SOLD

I have just listed this beautiful antique on ebay. It is made of solid silky oak and in excellent condition ..Please go to http://www.ebay.com.au/ bears>antique,vintage to see the full description ..enjoy!

JAPANESE DOLLS

I painted these little Japanese doll paintings a few years back..I may be persuaded to part with them if a buyer loves them as much as I do ..$100 each + post ..size 8 x 10 " acrylic on stretched canvas ready to hang..please contact me if interested kkaras@bigpond.net.au

I have been having computer problems so haven't posted anything for awhile . Didn't realise how much I relied on this technology until it was taken away..Feels like I have been cut off from the world .Well not so bad now hat I have discovered that I can do a lot from my laptop although much slower..LOL..
I am still painting some pieces for my ebay store ..but am escaping later in the week to join ' The Plein Air Girls' for some painting down by the beach..lets hope that the weather obliges as I am itching to get outdoors with my easel and paints..had a lovely weekend down the coast in our little holiday shack by the lake...bliss!

COASTAL BANKSIA

We have just returned from a very nice few days down the coast . It was lovely to take some time off and just relax..My husband and son had fun fishing and caught a few good fish which were yummy cooked on the BBQ .The water was crystal clear in the lake but my favourite part of this area is the boardwalk over to one of the most stunning beaches that I have ever seen. It was fabulous to just sit ( with camera in hand of course ! )and watch as families were enjoying themselves walking , playing cricket , surfing and fishing . Walking back across the sand hills some kids were having a ball as they sand sledded down the steep sand hills ending up with a splash in the water as they ended up in the lake . It all brought back memories of my own childhood doing exactly the same thing and left me thinking how wonderful in a world of electronic games and gadgets its these simple things that children get the most fun from ..nothing changes after all ...I hope that you enjoy this painting of coastal banksias that grow along the board walk looking out towards the mouth of the lake to the Pacific ocean..

Please contact me if you are interested in buying this painting on kkaras@bigpond.net.au ..

I accept Paypal

Size : 49cm x 59cm (19 1/4"x 23 1/4") oil on gallery wrap canvas

Price $500 AUD

PET PORTRAITS with PERSONALITY

I have just finished this painting of Leo and Monty ...Monty came to live with us 10 years ago and is a much loved member of our family..Leo is an 18 month old Ruby Cavalier and is my daughters dog..both love a walk by the lake near where we live..I can't part with this painting however I am happy to discuss any requests for orders..I paint in oil on quality gallery wrapped stretched canvas ...

Old House finished

I stayed in all day today and finished off the old house painting. It has come up pretty good and similar to the other paintings that I have done of the house for other members of the family so my client should be pleased with it ..

I am now on to my dog paintings and am planning to begin a painting of our 2 Cavaliers Monty and Leo tomorrow..need to get some other paintings started as well for some exhibitions so will sort that out tomorrow as well ..

hatbox and scrapbook album

I was asked to paint this lovely antique hatbox with old toys .I have just finished it and posted it off to its owner last week. Also completed this scrapbook for my customer who loves her horses as much as the bears..a great combination !

Ok, I know that I must be the slowest blogger on the planet ! Life has been busy with a capital B since I started this blog but I hope to get better at this and make a concious effort to keep it going . My news this week is that I am packing my art gear to go on a plein air trip with a group of friends to the Southern highlands ..NSW Australia ( not Scotland , altho I wish) We will be away for 5 days of blissful painting in this lovely region and we expect to be painting the beautiful colours of Autumn ..I joined this group of like minded artists a couple of years ago and we go on several trips to different places each year . It is a whole lot of fun and a chance to just paint without distraction ..these 2 paintings above were done from a trip to Jasper Ponds near Colo River on a previous plein air trip.. will be back next week with news of our latest adventure ..

Kathy Karas Art

Hi everyone,
My name is Kathy Karas and this is my first blog entry. I am an Aussie artist and have been painting for most of my life. I first took up my paintbrush as a full time artist about 17 years ago during the folk art craze but a few years ago decided that I needed to expand my horizons and started going to painting workshops in watercolour , pastel and oils. Well as soon as I got into oils I was hooked and now spend most days attempting to create paintings in this medium. I see my artwork taking me in 2 different directions as I still have quite a following for my craft art which I sell on ebay , bear shows and a website that I set up some years ago www.kathy-karas-artist.com but I am also gaining recognition for my oil paintings some of which can be seen on www.artwhatson.com.au/kathykaras so as you can see finding time to accomplish all of my goals can sometimes be quite a juggling act at the best of times ! However I am so enjoying this that I wanted to share my work with others . I hope that you enjoy seeing my paintings and would like to hear any comments . I aim to add to this blog on a regular basis so keep watching if you are interested.