California Oil Painting – Sycamore Meadow – Karen Winters

Sycamore Meadow
(Placerita Canyon Nature Center)
9 x 12 oil on canvas on board

The brilliant colors of fall give way to the softer colors of winter. In the last transitional days, some color remains on the trees, but the landscape takes on soft and refined hues.

Today the rainstorms are subsiding, and I’m optimistic that the next few days will show snow-decked mountains. I can hardly wait to see what the storm has left. Every season brings its unique gifts. As a California painter it’s always a thrill to see the seasonal changes of this beautiful and varied state.

Comments

  1. Ana Tirolese
    February 10, 2009

    Your work is absolutely beautiful. Wow!

  2. Timaree
    February 10, 2009

    Beautiful. Love the blue skies and yellow trees (my favorite colors). It looks like the perfect spot to have a walk and picnic.

  3. Pete,Theartbrush
    February 10, 2009

    Hi Karen,
    I’d like to know if you ever painted something you didn’t care for.[I’d like to see it]
    This is another painting that one can sit back and enjoy !!!.
    Happy brushing.
    Pete,Theartbrush

  4. Marian Fortunati
    February 10, 2009

    I love the subtle greys adjacent to the colorful sycamore branches!! I’m going to have to study how you do grasses.
    Wonderful as always.

  5. Karen
    February 10, 2009

    Thanks everyone …

    Good question, Pete, I don’t think I’ve painted anything I didn’t care for because I probably wouldn’t have chosen it as a subject. When the view is less than inspiring, I do something sneaky … I change it. As Milford Zornes, watercolorist, said “Paint it how you want it to be.”

    In this painting, in reality, there’s a big round hill in the back that looks like a derby hat sitting there dominating the scene. And there are asphalt paved paths threading through the meadow. They added nothing to the scene … so I removed them.

    Marian, if you have not been to the Masters show at the Autry yet, I highly recommend it. Now THERE are painters who really know how do do grasses, from the highly detailed work of Francois Koch and Dennis Doheny to the more impressionistic rendering of Bill Anton.

  6. Leslie Saeta
    February 10, 2009

    Another lovely painting my dear! I love the color! And I am also very glad that the rain has stopped! Welcome back sunshine.

  7. Diana Moses Botkin
    February 10, 2009

    Beautiful job, Karen. I esp. like the contrast of the blue and orange in that sweet spot.

  8. wendy
    February 10, 2009

    The contrast between the warm and cool colours makes this a lovely painting. You are so prolific – one painting a day, that is remarkable.
    w.

  9. Karen Phipps
    February 11, 2009

    There is a sparkle and a glow and a great distance in this painting. The light is really beautiful in it!

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