Raven Dreams of a Brighter Tomorrow

 

I know that I improvise using this bird on a rail a lot. I relate to this bird looking out into the horizon. I want to know what he or she thinks about or dreams of flying off to do. This is multi-layer digital collage combining several images in unusual ways.

Prints and prints on various surfaces are available on FineArt America.

Springtime Emerging

I finished this one a few months ago but I'm just getting around to framing it now. It's probably my favorite of all the ones in this series yet! These are magnolia flowers just coming into bloom from more than one angle combined. I'm enjoying exploring a contemporary version of cubism. It allows me to show motion and the concept of portraying the multiple things we as humans notice in an environment that a single snapshot could never express. I'm not sure if I plan to sell this one except as prints. For the time being I'm keeping it for my private collection. It's mixed media but mostly oil pastel.

Sidewalk and River Rocks, Landscape in Oil Pastel and China Marker

"Sidewalk and River Rocks", © 2017 Copyright by Sheryl Karas

This is the second in a series I'm working on right now based on an assignment I gave myself to try to find something interesting in or make something interesting out of whatever I could see walking around my apartment complex. Mostly I found myself staring at the ground beneath my feet. This is the sidewalk and drought tolerant California "landscaping" done in oil pastel and China Marker. A real challenge, actually, because I'm using a brand new box of expensive professional oil pastels and I didn't realize what a difference that quality would make! It's like using a completely new medium compared to the inexpensive ones I liked as a kid. But once I got over the shock of using something so creamy and blendable I really got excited about it. These are Caran D'Ache Neopastels.

I have a few more experiments left on this piece because I want to display this without framing it behind glass and I really do not know how this is going to work with the acrylic gel medium I plan to use. I figured I better photograph it before I take the next step so the original isn't available yet (and might get ruined!). But prints and prints on canvas are available on Fine Art America.

And, oh! It did not get ruined—it looks great! Contact me if you're interested in the original. It's 12" x 12" on cradled panel mounted on 16" x 16" cradled panel painted black. It's ready to hang without framing.

Green Sage, Wild Grass Abstract Pastel Landscape

"Green Sage, Wild Grass", © 2017 Sheryl Karas

This was a study I did for a larger piece now hanging in the lobby of the Chico Breast Care Center. I was experimenting with techniques for creating a pastel painting that did not need to be framed under glass and this was the first one that succeeded. I tried out lots of types of marks and types of pastel in this piece, never meaning to present it for sale. Years later, I look at this and love the freedom and spontaneity in it, thinking it really does stand on its own. So I finished it and will eventually frame it (not under glass). In the meantime, prints and prints on canvas are available on Fine Arts America.

Okay, this is finished now. It's 12" x 12" on cradled panel. Then I mounted it on a second 16" x 16" cradled panel painted black. It's ready to hang without framing (although I suppose you could add a frame if want to, but no point in adding glass).

Bottlebrush Flower Abstract Pastel Painting

"Bottlebrush Flower Abstract", © 2017 by Sheryl Karas

This piece was so much fun to do! Using a multiple image photograph I did before as a reference, I decided to try out my new art materials to recreate it. The image was an extreme macro (close-up) of a Bottlebrush flower with an overlay of wild grass blowing in the wind.  I liked the juxtaposition of the almost stiff pincushion-like Bottlebrush flower and the softness and movement of the wild grass. The materials were Nupastel and Pan Pastel (pretty much powdered pigment in a compact) that I applied with sponges and eye make-up applicators.

The original is done on cradled panel with multiple layers of fixative and acrylic medium so it does not need to be framed under glass. I am planning to mount and frame it without glass. In the meantime, I have prints and prints on canvas available on Fine Art America.

It's framed now! It's 12" x 12" on cradled panel mounted on a second 16" x 16" cradled panel painted black. It's ready to hang. Interested? Contact me at right.

Cymbidium Carnival in Acrylic and Pastel

Cymbidium Carnival, © 2017 Sheryl Karas

I posted a digital photography version of this before but I decided to recreate it in pastel and acrylic (mostly acrylic at this point) on acid-free matboard mounted on cradled panel painted black. I like it but, wow, was it challenging to do! I call it modern day cubism but I've added experiments in color use and transparency. The original is currently available. It is 18" x 24" including the black border. Prints and prints on canvas are available on Fine Art America.

Show at the Chico Art Center

Wild Ride, © 2016 Sheryl Karas

My piece "Wild Ride" is in a show at the Chico Art Center (CAC) through the end of the month. The Chico Art Center is at 450 Orange Street in Chico, CA, next to the train station. It's always nice to see my work on the wall at the CAC—they have such a nice art space and great people, too!

Succulents in the Mist, Digital Art Photography

Succulents in the Mist, © 2015 Sheryl Karas

Tiny Echeveria at the UCSC Arboretum caught my eye because I just loved the fleshy flower shapes. The actual flowers were blood red but I wanted to draw attention to the forms while while playing with multiple layers in Photoshop.

Framed and unframed prints and prints on canvas or metal are available.

Blue Grass on Construction Fence, Graphic Art

Blue Grass on Construction Fence, © 2015 Sheryl Karas

I love the juxtaposition of the natural and manmade geometric for some reason. I also got a kick out of the wild grass literally pulling down the barriers humans put up to keep others out. The graphic artist in me visualized this image on a decorative wall panel or throw pillow and it really does look good to me so I put it on a variety of other items as well. Check it out on an A-Line dress from Red Bubble:

Sheryl's Cat, Painting on Silk

Super Cat, Sheryl's Cat, © Sheryl Karas

At one point I was experimenting with painting on silk. I really love watching the richly colored ink soak into the silk until it is stopped by the gutta lines. It's also a nice cross between drawing and painting which appealed to me as well. I had two very fluffy cats at the time I painted this. One, Peeps, was especially full of personality so she was my special inspiration.

The original is not for sale. Prints, framed and unframed, as well as other items are available through Fine Art America and Pixels.com.

Epigenetic History, Mixed Media Painting

Epigenetic History, © 2015 Sheryl Karas

Epigenetic refers to the altering of DNA that is carried from trauma your ancestors experienced. I rarely go dark in my artwork in terms of emotional content but sometimes that's just the truth. At the time I painted this I was very frustrated and upset about my art career and the choices I could see available to me for a career of any sort. So I started this painting but then put it aside. Then my father died and I had a dream about his heritage that was affecting me -- a similar cultural heritage to the artist Marc Chagall who is also an influence in this work. He also rarely went dark in his paintings . . . but sometimes he did. So I continued. I was never happy with it though. So I took a photo, scanned it into my computer and made alterations and additions in Photoshop.

The original painting is gone but framed or unframed prints or prints on canvas or metal are available.

Rebirth (Red Sand, Green Sage), Mixed Media, Acrylic and Pastel

Rebirth, © 2012 Sheryl Karas

This is inspired by Sagebrush at sunset in the red sand desert, blowing this way and that in the wind. I call it "Rebirth" for two reasons. One, Sagebrush is the first plant to reclaim the desert after it has been devastated by ranchers ripping out all the Juniper trees to graze cattle. But also, I think that rebirth can often be a chaotic process as you determine (or discover) what from your old life does not apply anymore and which way you might want to go next.

In this piece I was innovating a way to mix drawing with pastel and painting with acrylic and present it without glass. I used multiple layers of spray casein fixative and then several layers of acrylic medium and varnish. It is painted on canvas that was applied to cradled panel painted black.

SOLD!!!   Prints and prints on canvas are available on Fine Art America.

Fantasy Protea, Acrylic Painting

Fantasy Protea, © 2014 Sheryl Karas

I've painted this protea more than once, the first time small in pastel pencil and this time in acrylic. I wanted to achieve the effects I get in pastel using paint, however, so I used my fingers to apply and blend the paint instead of brushes.

The original is available. It is 20" x 20," acrylic on canvas.

Manzanita in Autumn

Manzanita in Autumn, © Sheryl Karas

One of my first paintings! I have a fascination with tree branches against the sky and Manzanita trees have a strange way of twisting and turning like snakes as they do so. The smooth reddish bark is also a feature of this tree that tends to capture my attention.

The original painting is 36" x 36" acrylic on canvas and is available for sale.

No Time Like the Present, Acrylic Painting

No Time Like the Present, © 2014 Sheryl Karas

My current home of Chico, CA is a small town-like city surrounded by almond orchards. It's very pleasant and friendly but when I painted this painting I was feeling homesick for Santa Cruz, CA, where I used to live. The clock is a reference to the clock tower in Santa Cruz but it is on a Chico-like house to remind me to be here now. I challenged myself to use bold colors of red, yellow, teal green and purple. I was inspired by the Fauves and pop art artists like Andy Warhol and Peter Max.

The original acrylic painting on canvas is 18" x 24" and is currently available for sale.

The Promise, Photo-Painting

The Promise, © 2011

This piece was based on a photograph I took of a seemingly dead Yucca plant in the high desert of Arizona. But in the heart of the plant lies a secret: the promise of regeneration. It may not rain for a long time but, when it does, the plant sends a tall tall flower shoot out from its center, and springs back to life.

This is a digitally created piece but I do have an "original" in the sense of having a one of a kind 30" x 30" print on canvas mounted on painted cradled panel, coated with acrylic and signed on the back. You can contact me through the form on the right side of this page if you are interested in that. Other prints and printed products are available through Fine Art America or Pixels.com.

Call of the Heyoka, Acrylic Painting

Call of the Heyoka, © 2014 Sheryl Karas

SOLD

The Heyoka are sacred clowns in the Native American tradition that ride horses backwards to stop people from just going lock-step in the same direction they would tend to go without thinking things through. In this painting the Heyoka ride in tandem (me and my partner Paul) and we're grappling with a "safety net" that threatens to pull us down from our freedom ride across the sky and back down to Earth. "Threatening," I say, because that's how we felt about landing in Chico against our wishes. But we weren't allowed to continue in the same direction at that time. A more grounded perspective is often needed to help people create what is really important in their lives.

The original painting in acrylic was sold but prints and other products are available at Fine Art America and Pixels.com.

Contained Chaos, Cut Paper Collage

Contained Chaos, © 1989 Sheryl Karas

SOLD

Long ago I made cut paper collages that I called "Paper Quilts." This was part of a favorite series of mine in which I was exploring the concept of chaos versus order. I could have just taken a photograph of my house, but let's not go there!

The original piece was made of Japanese chirogami paper and handmade art papers. Prints and a variety of products are available at Fine America and Pixels.com.

Blue, Purple and Black Paint and Grass Pattern

Blue, Purple and Black Paint and Grass Pattern, © 2016 Sheryl Karas

Well, I am definitely going to need help in naming my new patterns! But this is what it is called right now. This is a digitally-created pattern made by layering a photograph of weeds and wild grass over a photograph of paint splatters and then digitally manipulating the result to create this repeating pattern. You can find it on a variety of products on Red Bubble.

Here is what it looks like on a chiffon Red Bubble shirt.

The Dawn Of Creation, Photo-painting

"The Dawn of Creation", © 2015 Sheryl Karas

Sagebrush and wild grass was the inspiration for this photographically created digital painting. Sagebrush is symbolic of the power to recreate oneself. It is the first significantly-sized plant to regrow in environmentally devastated parts of the Arizona high desert ripped up by ranchers hoping to find their cattle easier. They drag chains across the landscape and pull all the Juniper trees out by the roots, destroying animal and bird habitats and leaving the carcasses behind. When the Sagebrush comes back, it creates new homes for small animals who live under the thick branches.

There is no specific "original" or size for this piece as it was created digitally. You can find it as a framed or unframed print or print on canvas or metal on Fine Art America (and Pixels.com).