Pasadena Arroyo Bridges – Colorado Street Bridge Oil Painting

“Pasadena Arroyo Bridges – featuring the Colorado Street Bridge”
9 x 12 oil

This plein air painting was done about a month ago and I thought I had posted it to my blog but just realized that I had not. So, here it is. It was painted as part of a paint out for the California Art Club.

The viewpoint is from the east side of the arroyo, near the Casita del Arroyo, looking westward.

And speaking of the CAC, we had a fantastic time last night at the 100th anniversary celebration party of the California Art Club, held at the California Club in downtown LA. The champagne flowed freely and it was fun to see so many early California impressionist paintings decorating the walls of the club, as well as some paintings by some new California masters. It was a pleasure seeing so many old friends and making some new ones, too. No other organization does so much to preserve and promote the beauty of California as portrayed through traditional fine art, and I am always pleased to take part in their many activities. If you’re a traditional fine artist, you really should join.

These are bittersweet times for us, with many mixed emotions. On one hand I’m blessed with so many new opportunities related to art, including my show at the Bowers Museum which will hang this Friday the 16th. On the other hand our almost 12 year old American bulldog Ripley has suddenly become seriously ill and we will probably need to say goodbye in a few days. Feeling intense joy and grief is part of life, and as the wise man said … “this too shall pass …” both the very good and the very sad. I pray for equanimity during these times, savoring good memories of the past and holding optimistic expectations for the future.

Arroyo Seco Painting – Pasadena Bridge Panorama – Plein Air by Karen Winters

Arroyo Panorama
SOLD
12 x 24 inches
oil on canvas

Interested in other Pasadena bridge paintings?
Click this link to write me.
See more of my paintings on my website

Last week I had the pleasure of painting this panorama of the Arroyo Seco from a vantage point high above the canyon. I wanted the late afternoon look, so I had to work fast. As it turned out, I left the painting of the sky and foreground for later, concentrating on the trees, grasses, mountains and architecture as the sun relentlessly continued its course. It’s an interesting time of year. Not all of the deciduous trees have leaves yet – but the grass is thick and abundant, and bright yellow green. In a few months the vivid green will turn straw brown and there will be a solid canopy of leafy trees below. Every season brings its own beauties to enjoy. I’m guessing that I could look at a plein air painting of an early California impressionist and pretty well guess the month it was painted if I knew the location.

My husband shot a little bit of video as I painted, which I’ve included here:

See more of my Arroyo Paintings at http://www.pasadenapaintings.com

Pasadena Arroyo Bridge Painting – Arroyo Bridge Reflections

Arroyo Bridge Reflections
9 x 12
oil on linen panel

This is a familiar scene I return to time and time again – a view of one of the arroyo seco bridges from down below. I have walked across that stream at varying depths – after a rain storm and in mid summer when the ground is just barely moist. There are often ducks down there which add to the tranquil scene.

Depending upon the time of day, the scene may appear cooler or more golden, as it does in afternoon light.

Visit this link to see more Pasadena and Arroyo Seco area paintings.

Arroyo Seco Trail, Colorado Street Bridge painting, revisited

“Arroyo Seco Trail”
9 x 12 inches, oil on canvas
SOLD (commission)

I like to paint new things, as a rule, because it’s fun to interpret new subject matter and challenge myself – but from time to time I get a request from a client to paint a new version of a previous painting. In this case, a gentleman saw the painting I used on my postcard of my solo show this spring (sold during the show) and asked it I would paint another version for his daughter as a Christmas present. The family used to live in Pasadena and had fond memories of the Arroyo Seco and their walks together. I was happy to do this for him. Of course, no two paintings are ever exact copies, due to different shapes of the canvas as well as differences in creative interpretation. He was delighted with this treatment and I hope that his daughter will be, too.

Saturday I had a great time with the California Art Club during a paint out at Randy Higbee’s gallery in Costa Mesa. We were painting models dressed as gods and goddesses from Wagner’s Ring Cycle.

Arches of Light – Pasadena California Colorado Street Bridge

Colorado Street Bridge Suicide Bridge oil painting

“Arches of Light” – Colorado Street Bridge in the Arroyo Seco, Pasadena
11 x 14
oil on canvas

SOLD

Although this painting is sold, I have many more Pasadena paintings at this link: Pasadena paintings

This painting is a study for a larger work which I hope to be doing pretty soon – a view of the Colorado Street Bridge from an angle I’ve not painted before. This time of year the trees have not yet turned their glorious autumn colors. But soon they should be more golden, which will present other creative possibilities. This view is from the side of the arroyo between the Colorado Street Bridge and the 134 freeway bridge. The morning light makes the stone (or concrete) structure glow with beautiful colors.

Interested in a Pasadena painting?
Click this link to write me.
See more of my paintings on my website

Arroyo Seco Landmarks – Colorado Street Bridge Pasadena painting

Arroyo Landmarks
12 x 16 oil on canvas
Original oil painting

SOLD

More Pasadena paintings at this link: Pasadena paintings

This is a painting I’ve been working on for awhile, and I thought it was time I finished it up while I continue progress with my fall Sierra series.
The Colorado Street Bridge (also known as the Suicide Bridge to locals) is a major Pasadena landmark, as is the Federal Courthouse, formerly the Vista Del Arroyo Hotel, which overlooks the arroyo. From a certain angle you can see both. The bridge is very tall, but surprisingly those pines are even taller.

Along with painting, I’ve been in the throes of migrating to a new computer system. My old Mac was getting slow and a few USB and Firewire drives weren’t mounting, leading us to believe that there was a problem with those buses. Fortunately I had all my files backed up, but when two of my backup hard drives went down I knew it was time to make a change. Coincidence or causality? I don’t know if the old computer could hurt the drives but I wasn’t taking any chances. Leo LaPorte (the tech guy on the radio) is fond of saying that if you don’t have your files in at least two places, you don’t have them. Even when some of my drives were heading south, I immediately backed up the data onto a new one, plus DVDs as well. I’m thinking of subscribing to Carbonite for another layer of offsite protection.

The good thing is that this new computer is much faster, which makes light work of editing photos of my paintings and organizing and cataloging my paintings.

Anyway, upgrades are a tedious and time consuming process, so I’m hopeful that now I’ll be back in the swing of posting new paintings more regularly. But you gotta do what you gotta do, right?

If you’re interested in adding this painting to your collection, please write karen@karenwinters.com

Colorado Street Bridge – Summer Landscape California Oil Painting

Pasadena Bridge – Summer Days
(Colorado Street Bridge)
8 x 10 oil on canvas

SOLD but I have other bridge paintings

This California landscape is one that is familiar to residents of Pasadena and the communities surrounding the Arroyo Seco. The Colorado Street Bridge , seen here looking northward, rises over the grassy fields that are now turning golden. Only the evergreen eucalyptus, oaks, willows and other natives keep their colors. The 134 freeway bridge can be seen in the distance. On these late spring days it’s not uncommon to see thunderheads building over the San Gabriel Mountains – you can feel the humidity build up at those times.

I am counting down the days until my reception at Gale’s Restaurant in Pasadena. Sunday, May 31, 4-6 pm. If you’re local, I hope you can come!

Book tip of the day: Kevin McPherson’s Landscape Painting Inside and Out: Capture the Vitality of Outdoor Painting in Your Studio With Oils. I do plein air painting as often as I can … but I have learned a lot from this book and others about keeping the fresh plein air feeling while painting in studio. Check it out!