I have just finished painting this lovely house for my friend . It is a beautiful Victorian cottage that has ben lovingly restored and a pleasure to paint 

COASTAL CRAFTS HANDMADE MARKET

Hello everyone !

Life has been extremely busy with lots of painting under way in my studio . I am so blessed to be able to paint several styles and mediums . One day I am painting lovely children's art for kids rooms like this painting above ' Wink, Sleepy and Bright Eyes' in acrylic and the next painting a commissioned artwork in oil like the lovely one recently finished of a neighbour's house ..never a dull moment but I am totally loving my life as an artist .. Tomorrow I will be selling paintings at the new Coastal Crafts Handmade Market at Centenary Hall Albion Park ..Look forward to seeing you there if you are in the area 

My latest painting hot of the easel is  BEACH BABE  ..Thanks Ruby you are a lovely model !

Rockpool

Phew ! what a busy couple of weeks ..
It was lovely to spend a few days away with my painting group The Plein Air Girls ..The weather was perfect , the company splendid ...the food and wine to die for !  In spite of this we had a very productive time and I managed to get 2-3 plein air paintings done each day ...not masterpieces ..but just had good fun trying to capture the scenery before it changed . What a great little group we have become ! It is such a pleasure to spend time with these ladies several times a year . Look out for a featured article about us in (maybe) the next Australian Artist Magazine .
There is nothing like a painting trip with the 'Girls' to get me all enthused and inspired to paint so I was straight into this painting above on my return ..I am very pleased with the outcome of " Rockpool ' painted from a photo of my sweet little grandaughter playing at the beach a couple of months ago . 

ROSIE POSY

My latest teddy painting . Rosie Posy . Featuring bears at afternoon tea surrounded by pretty china .. framed in a beautiful white vintage frame . Overall size 54cm x 44cm . Available for sale . Please contact me for details  ....Sorry sold

LADY

I recently painted this portrait of a sweet little Italian Greyhound "LADY"

fine art revisited

INTRODUCING......

hellooo everyone ..

Have you missed me ? I have been busily designing and painting up a storm for my latest artworks KATHY KARAS KIDSART  ...What fun it is to be a grandmother ! I can enjoy all the kidstuff without people thinking that I am nutty ...here are a few samples of what I have been up to ..find me on Facebook to keep up to date with where I will be selling these cute as a button paintings especially for kids rooms...

And ...back to the studio

Hi everyone ,
Well I have had a lovely holiday mainly just staying home in our new house this year . We had a great family Christmas, a quiet New Year's eve spent having drinks with the neighbours but best of all we welcomed our new baby grandson into the world . It was so nice to take the month off just to enjoy family and friends , recharge the batteries and think about projects for the year ahead ..
Also it is good to take a break because now my painting hand is itching to get those thoughts and ideas into action in the studio ..There are several exhibitions that I am working towards ... Over the break I managed to get some great photos of my granddaughter Ruby Rose now 19 months old playing at the beach that will make a great subject for paintings . I have just completed an interesting dog portrait that is a commissioned piece .
I am pleased to report that my small paintings have been selling well at The Kiama Gallery. I am excited to be involved with this lovely little gallery .

On the teddy bear front I have some new ideas too which will unfold in the months ahead ..I have just completed a teddy item pictured above that is listed on Ebay . I am very happy to discuss any special orders for any type of painting .

THE PLEIN AIR GIRLS

here we are at the opening night of our exhibition ' Emotion ..and the journey continues by the Plein Air Girls' 

Plein Air Girls exhibition

We had a fantastic opening to our exhibition last Friday night at the Shoalhaven Gallery , Nowra . The gallery was packed with people and a couple of paintings were sold . I was excited to sell my painting ' Reflecting the Past ' that I am holding in this photo and newspaper feature of us all at the Gallery . The exhibition continues until 8th February . 

New website

Hello everyone,
Happy New Year to you all . I have a new website www.kathy-karas.artistwebsites.com
Why not have a look ..You can order quality prints and cards from this site 

INVITATION

AFFORDABLE ART SALE

Hello Art lovers ,
I will be selling paintings at the Redpoint "AFFORDABLE ART SALE"  this weekend . You can find me in the courtyard at the Redpoint Arts Association complex 101 Wentworth Street , Port Kembla NSW . Lots of paintings on sale at a reduced price .Come and grab some bargains . Hope to see you there .

Tullimbar Community Market Day

A market day will be held this Sunday 27th November at the Tullimbar community garden , Callala Street , Tullimbar from 8am .Weather permitting.
Items available for sale are:
 fresh produce
cakes ,
jewelry
art /craft
baby clothes ,
cards
body shop
and much more

hope to see you there !

TEDDY TOOL BOX

I just love this cute antique toolbox ..It looks great painted with old bears , hobby horses and a little rabbit .. available for sale on ebay 

ANTIQUE CASE

This lovely antique timber case is my latest artwork . I was very pleased with how it came up with beautiful olde world bears painted across the front . I used my treasured tea set as inspiration for the painting . The case is a great size 24 inches long ..perfect for displaying with a bear collection ..sorry sold

check out this great blog

Hi everyone , check out this great blog http://www.theoldpaintedcottage.blogspot.com/

Antique cedar box

I love this little antique box that I found recently. It is made from cedar and very cute . Looks very cute with old bears and toys painted around the sides . Perfect for siting little bears inside . Size 18cm x 13cm x 19cm (7 inches x 5 inches x 7 3/4 inches ) Available in my ebay store sorry sold

Teddy Shelf

This lovely shabby chic book shelf is available for sale . I have painted sweet teddies on either side with old postcards decorated with rosebuds on the botton shelf . The size is 43cm wide by 40cm high ( 17inches x 16 inches ) available in my ebay store sorry sold

Latest Teddy artwork

I have just finished painting this nice Bollinger box . It has come up a treat with vintage bears painted on 3 sides and the top . Perfect for sitting old bears inside makes a lovely display ...price $120 +post ..interested before it goes to ebay at a higher price due to exhorbitant fees ? please contact me kathykaras@bigpond.com SORRY SOLD

WAITING FOR RAIN AT SOFALA

WAITING FOR RAIN AT SOFALA

I have just finished this painting from a photo that I took of the owner of the farmstay homestead that I stayed at a couple of years ago . There was a severe drought at the time but it has broken since with flooding in many parts of the country ...A land of extreme conditions making life so difficult for those working on the land

please join me on www.facebook.com/kathy.karas.art

KIAMA ART GALLERY EXHIBITION

You are invitet to the opening of the 'Australian Landscape 2011' exhibition at the Kiama Art Gallery . I am exhibiting 3 small landscapes .

CUTE ANTIQUE DOLL'S BED

I was so pleased to find this gorgeous little antique recently . It is totally original and made from cedar . I have painted bears in PJ's on the bedhead ..just right for a teddy nap! the size is 52cm or 21 inches long.

Available in my ebay store .
SOLD
                                                            Have a beary beautiful day !

SPRING HAS SPRUNG !

Hello everyone ,
Sorry I have been absent from blogging for a little while but I have been madly catching up with painting some new works after selling so many at the ' Coastal Inspirations' exhibition . A great thing about having an exhibition is getting the chance to show my work to new customers and catch up with those who have followed my progress over the years . It's not too late to see the exhibition as it's on until 16th October . Another exhibition worth checking out is the exhibition of small Australian landscapes at the Kiama Gallery , Terralong street which opens 29th September 2011 at 5.30 pm . I was pleased to be asked by the owner Andrea Hope to exhibit a few paintings .
Well spring has sprung here in the Southern Hemisphere and I am pleased to see the cold weather fading away and the start of this lovely time of year . The trees have sprouted their new leaves , blossoms are blooming , chickens are laying , birds are chirping ..I am just about ready to pack the fire away till next year ..It certainly is nice to go for my daily walk with sunshine on my face !
To mark the start of spring I have painted this cute as a button leather bag with teddies and flowers . I couldn't resist buying it last weekend ..and couldn't wait to paint it up in the design that was in my head ..it is an original old leather bag ..about the 1920's ..a lovely small version of the gladstone bag , perhaps for the ladies due to its size and the fact that it has a money purse inside ...simply divine ..can be seen in my ebay store..

Exhibitions

THE PIE MAKER

Hello everyone !

Can this life get any busier !! We got off to a great start with our exhibition ' COASTAL INSPIRATIONS' opening at the Minnamurra cafe last Friday night selling lots of paintings and had a happy friendly evening with those who came to see our works and have a chat ...I've been busy in my studio the past couple of days painting a very nice work to replace ' Sea Change'  that sold at the opening ...

I enjoyed the opening of the Meroogal Women's Art prize on Saturday . The standard of artworks is so high this year and I was very proud to see my painting ' The Pie Maker' exhibited in such good company. The theme this year is Made By Hand and celebrates the women of this lovely old historic home that was owned by several generations of women and now owned by the historic houses trust.

It was important to me to make this painting for the exhibition . I was compelled to do so as I have a connection to this place . My grandmother lived in the same street and I remember Meroogal from an early age , even though I didn't know the inhabitants at the time I always wondered who lived in this grand old home ..It fascinated me..In 1974 my grandmother's sister Aunt Dorothy went to live at Meroogal as a housekeeper . I was invited to visit the house and was shown into the loungeroom . I vividly remember being introduced to an elderly lady who was sitting at the table peeling apples . She was Elgin Macgregor the last women to own and live in the house . When Elgin passed away in 1977 The house was given to the historic houses trust . It is from my memory of meeting Elgin all those years ago that inspired me to paint this picture and enter it in the art prize .

HOUSE PHOTOS

My studio door looks lovely at night

Minnamurra Exhibition