Wild Ride, Mixed Media Painting

Wild Ride, © 2015 Sheryl Karas

When I was a kid I used to go to Paragon Amusement Park at Nantasket Beach in Massachusetts all summer long. My cousin worked there and would get us free tickets for a few rides each. I loved it and my favorite ride was the Flying Horses. When I lived in Santa Cruz, CA, they also had a great amusement park, The Boardwalk, and my favorite ride there was the old antique Looff Carousel.

I brought my camera one day and there were these two women and a small child going on his first ride who were having such a great time. The women, in particular, were shrieking with laughter. I imagine it had been a long time since they had ridden the carousel. I thought of wild horses being set free, at least for the length of the ride, so I put them in the background of this painting at the bottom.

The original painting is currently available, 30" x 30" on cradled panel with painted sides. It is pastel and acrylic, made with a technique I innovated so the pastel does not need to be under glass. Prints on stretched canvas are available in my Etsy shop.

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.

The Disquieting Nest, Pastel Drawing

"The Disquieting Nest", © 2014 Sheryl Karas

SOLD

This piece was inspired by a dream I had where I was being fed by a benevolent bird. I was very upset about being in her nest despite her great intentions. And in waking life this was true as well. Sometimes what we need and even feel thankful for is less than we wish for in our lives. For me, this piece represents the inner conflict that can often entail.

The original was a pastel on paper. Prints are available on Fine Art America and Pixels.com.