Born in Boston, Michael Karas knew from the time he was a youngster that he wanted to be an artist. He graduated from the New England School of Art and Design and continued his studies at the Gloucester Academy of Fine Arts in Gloucester, Massachusetts. From 1978 to 984, he lived and painted on Cape Ann.

At the end of 1984, Karas and his wife, Fern, left the Cape and set out on an eighteen-month adventure, 25,000 mile journey. Michael painted in over a dozen national parks, and the natural wonders sparked new levels of inspiration for him. One of his goals in his paintings is to show his love of nature, and to capture a mood or moment in time rather than a specific place.

He has received more than 23 awards for excellence and in July 1982 was the featured artist in American Artist Magazine with his painting on the cover. The noted marine artist John Stobart said the following about Karas: "It's not so much what he paints, but the way he handles the paint. . . .Karas paints like a master and presents a major contribution to the survival of the craft."

About one of Karas's seascapes, Jacqueline Hall, art critic, wrote: "One feels the richness of paint, the deftness of the brush strokes. [He] captures the furor of the ocean with a power worthy of Winslow Homer."


Source:
American Artist magazine

Michael B. Karas was born in Boston in 1954. His innate artistic talent was recognized at an early age. He graduated from the New England School of Art and Design in Boston in 1975. Living and painting in Gloucester, Massachusetts until 1984, Karas and his wife left Cape Ann and traveled extensively for two years, painting the wilds of America. Returning to New England, they settled in the quaint little village of Sandy Point, Maine, where Karas continued to live and work until his recent move to the South Carolina Lowcountry, where he finds the soft mud flats and sweeping marshes a stimulating contrast to the hard, rocky coast of New England.

Michael has recieved several awards for excellence in painting, and has appeared as a guest painter on John Stobart's worldscape series, which aired nationally on PBS. Over 2,000 of his paintings are included in numerous private, public and corporate collections throughout the world.

Karas' love for the outdoors abounds in his paintings, offering the observer the opportunity to come face to face with nature. One prime element in all of Karas' work is his use of light. Whether dramatic or subtle, his paintings are intended to evoke much beauty and truth.