Oh those baby blue eyes !

Finally I got to paint the eyes on the cats . I must admit I was looking forward to this ..They are sooo blue and beautiful . Finished most of the blocking in ..now the fun begins J..

getting the darks right

painting in the background , started to define shading the blanket ..will define the dark shadows tomorrow and get some colour onto the canvas ..I'm enjoying this ..what do you think so far J ?

blocking in

sketch onto canvas

preliminary sketch

PET PORTRAIT

I have recently begun a commissioned pet portrait for a client in another state. After several emails back and forth with photos attached I had all that I needed to come up with a rough preliminary sketch to show J . A further phone call was great to find out more about the pets ..ie personalities , sizes in relation to each other , favourite colours etc were determined in this discussion . It was lovely to speak directly with J as we have never met before and we discovered that we have many things in common not least our love of collecting bears ...I find that it is essential to gain as much information about the subjects as possible ..after all having a portrait commissioned isn't something that one has done often and I am trying to bring out the personalities in the painting as well as a good likeness. The commission is for 2 beautiful Golden retrievers , 4 stunning cats and 6 bears all sitting on a rug together..We decided that the size would have to be 80cm x 60 cm ...taking into account the size of the wall where the painting is to be hung and to fit this many animals together..I am using Fredrix Artist canvas and am painting in oils.

My first post is the preliminary drawing on paper ..the next is the drawing that I sketched onto the canvas with charcoal..following is the rough in with blue , blocking in the shadows..don't panic J this is just like the undercoat with much work to be done yet before it starts to resemble the finished painting !

VINTAGE CASE sold

This lovely vintage case sold within 30 minutes of listing on ebay ..working on a large painting ..Yes I am on to it J ..Will post some pics soon

THE MOORINGS

I painted this one a couple of years ago . It is sometimes good to look back at what you have done previously and although I still really like this painting I can see lots of things that I would do differently now..Some of the perspective is way off ..I think that I will paint another one from the same spot and see how much I have improved in 2 years ! That is when I get through the list of dogs, cats , horses, beach scenes oh and not to forget the bears that are awaiting my attention..I just love this ..how lucky to be allowed to spend my days at an easel...

NORTH BEACH

This is a painting that I did of my local beach . A favourite spot for surfers and day visitors from Sydney

A NEW DAY BEGINS

I was inspired to paint this sleepy scene after visiting the harbour early one morning .it was completely still , no one was around and the hustle and bustle of the day was yet to begin..The only sound was the tinkle, tinkle of the rigging on the yachts as they swayed gently in those few seconds before dawn. It was magical to be there ..What a way to begin the day ??
The ambiance remained with me and I was compelled to put paint to canvas as soon as I could ....
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Sunday

We had a great time fossicking through the treasures at the antique market today ..I found some interesting pieces for my ebay teddy shop ( not telling what they are just now ..you will all have to be patient and wait for them to be painted !!) We bumped into some dear friends who we haven't seen in yonks so it was fantastic to catch up with them over breakfast .. It was just a lovely Sunday ..The photos that I have posted today are one that I painted in oil after a plein air weekend to Kanimbla in the Blue mountains..the other is another banksia painting in oil from my favourite spot down the south coast..

Kanimbla Plein air weekend

COASTAL BANKSIA 2

Went for a walk by the lake

ANTIQUE CARPENTER"S BOX. sorry sold

back to blogging

It has taken me a few days to work out why I couldn't post any photos on the blog but have it all sorted now . I am still painting the ebay teddy stock for my store and luckily the constant rain has kept me indoors and focussed.. The beautiful antique carpenter's box that I listed sold within a couple of hours ..a very interesting commission has come my way ..very exciting ..I managed to get out for a walk by the lake while there was a little ray of sunshine in between showers..off to an antique market tomorrow ..if I don't find any treasures it is always a great place to people watch and get some good reference photos ...
hope you are enjoying the blog ..I like comments and you are welcome to be a follower...

Me in my studio

It was such a stunning day today that I decided to go for a walk early down by the lake . There were lots of people about enjoying the winter sunshine . The lake was so still and like glass refelecting everything so I was pleased that I didn't forget my camera. After dropping into the post office to send some ebay items I got stuck into some painting. I have several things on the go at the moment . I am itching to start another horse painting ( photos compliment of DM.thankyou) and am also painting some pet portrait commissions ..will post them on the blog when done. I have just finished a lovely old hatbox for my ebay customers and am working on a stunning old carpenter's box. As you can tell I love variety !

www.artwhatson.com.au/kathykaras

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

BREAKFAST AT THE BEACH

I was moved to paint this scene after I visited my favourite local beach early one morning . The painting is of people enjoying breakfast at the North beach kiosk . The sun has risen..everyone is in a relaxed mood and some are taking a dip in the ocean..This painting is for sale ...please contact me direct kkaras@bigpond.net.au if interested in purchasing this original piece of art ..

Size: 75cm x 60cm (29 1/2"x 23 1/2")

price: $ 1,500

oil on gallery wrap stretched canvas. ready to hang .

I accept Paypal ,

Paypal & bank deposit within Australia

Out Of The Mist

I have been working on this painting and just finished it today..I got all inspired to paint it from a photo that I took while I was away with the Plein Air Girls last month . It had been a rainy ,windy morning and we had done our best to set up our easels to do some painting .( how dedicated are we ?) well we had just about had enough of battling the elements by lunchtime so one of the girls suggested that we go to the Sutton Forrest pub for lunch ..sounded like a grand idea to me !..The pub dining room has a lovely outlook towards rolling hills so we settled in for a pleasant lunch ..seemingly out of nowhere four gorgeous horses came cantering over the hill ..so lunch was forgotten and out came the cameras with a mad dash out the door towards the paddock..talk about great subjects ..it was like they were posing for the cameras as we happily clicked away oblivious of the bad weather ..back at the pub later the chef told us that the land behind the pub is owned by Nic and Keith so we were doubly pleased ..anyway this painting is called 'Out of the Mist' and has a dreamy mystical feel to it as I tried to re live the emotions of the day...I have been asked to hang a painting in the Sebel Harbourside at Kiama ..so am deciding whether to go with one that I have or paint something else ..stay tuned...:)