High Sierra California landscape ranch painting- Bishop, California
Grazing in Paradise
8 x 10 oil painting
More Sierra Nevada paintings here
A herd of cattle grazes peacefully in a region called “Paradise” near Bishop, California, in the shadow of the Eastern Sierra.
If I were a cow I’d think this was a pretty heavenly place to graze, especially in the late afternoon when everything is warm and mellow.
Sierra Landscape Oil Painting – Bishop Windbreak, Owens Valley by Karen Winters
“Bishop Windbreak, Owens Valley”
California Sierra Landscape Oil Painting
16 x 20 oil on canvas
More Sierra Nevada paintings here
The first time that I painted this stand of trees, I thought they were aspens. The leaves were similar in shape, but the trunks are not the characteristic aspen white. The trunks looked more like cottonwoods – but the silhouette of the shape was more poplar like, and didn’t have the rounded tops.
A little net searching led me to discover that the the tree is actually a Lombardy poplar – and it is a variation of the black cottonwood. The whole botanical name is Populus nigra sp. Italia. So it’s both a black cottonwood and a poplar – and I think now my curiosity is satisfied. Whatever they are, these stately trees form excellent windbreaks along pastures near Bishop.
Sierra Breezes Oil Painting – California Sierra Landscape by Karen Winters KWinters
Sierra Breezes
11 x 14 oil on canvas
Sierra oil painting
SOLD
More Sierra Nevada paintings here
For the last few years, fall means visits to the Sierra and, at its feet, the Owens Valley. Not only do I love it for its serenity but also the exhilarating complementary color palette. This time of year everything is orange/gold and blue. Leaves tumble with every breeze that passes through. Sometimes a storm barrels through and turns a brilliantly colored tree into a sleeping skeleton in one night. My attempt in this painting was to capture a more gentle mood near Bishop – a lightly breezy day before the soon-to-arrive storms.
In a little less than 2 weeks, I’ll be taking some of my new work to the last Montrose Art Walk of the year. This will be my last outdoor show this season.
Los Osos Valley Road – For the Love of the Land – California landscape oil painting – Central Coast
“For the Love of the Land”
Los Osos Valley Road, California Central Coast
12 x 16 inches
California landscape oil painting
See more of my California Central Coast paintings here
This painting is one of the works that resulted from my spring trip to the San Luis Obispo area with the California Art Club. I just got the news yesterday that it has been selected for inclusion in a special exhibition at the CAC gallery at the Old Mill in San Marino. The show, named Capturing California’s Preserved Lands and Historic Districts: Gems from the Central Coast will open August 31 and run through January 2, 2011. All of the paintings are for sale.
There will be an artists reception Thursday, September 2 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. This is the first time that I’ve been eligible as an Artist member to submit work for this gallery and I am delighted that this piece was chosen for the show.
The painting depicts a spot along the Los Osos Valley Road, toward sunset. The green grasses of spring were drying out and starting to turn that characteristic California gold.
I have more paintings which came out of that trip, and will be posting them here soon.
California Wildflower Landscape Cambria Lupine Flowers Plein Air Field Study
Cambria Lupine Flowers
8 x 6″ oil
Last spring, when we were in Central California with the California Art Club, we wandered through the countryside in search of wildflowers to paint. We came upon this beautiful hillside just covered with lupine and small orange flowers. The scent of the lupine was heady and I think the bees must have been drunk with it. As I painted this small study there was a constant buzzing sound around me. This study will provide information for a larger painting.
-Interested in this painting?
Click this link to write me. See more of my paintings on my website