Cottonwood Dawn — California Impressionist Oil Painting – Eastern Sierras
Cottonwood Dawn
(near Bishop, California)
16 x 20 oil on canvas
SOLD
Ths painting is sold but I have others of the Sierras in the fall. Write me.
Although the leaves are now fallen and scattered by the wind, the eastern Sierras still call me and evoke memories of golden glory. I understand that snow sometimes falls in Bishop, in the Owens Valley, but that it doesn’t stay on the ground long. How I’d love to go back there and see these meadows and cottonwoods clad in downy white. Maybe later in the season – I hope!
My interview on Creative Liberty
Pomegranates and sunflowers
11 x 14 oil on canvas
I was interviewed yesterday on Creative Liberty, a wonderful blog about living creatively. Liz Massey, the blog owner and a creative coach asked me some good questions for her “In the Studio” series, and I enjoyed the opportunity to talk about my work flow, staying “unblocked” and keeping my creative fires lit. Click the “creative liberty” link to read it.
Autumn Morning – Bishop, California – California impressionist oil painting by Karen Winters
Autumn Morning, Bishop
12 x 16 oil on linen on panel
SOLD
The High Sierras rise in the background over a wildflower meadow in Bishop, California. Dawn light touches the peaks and the Owens Valley as well.
On Friday Dec, 5, I’ll be gallery sitting (and probably painting) at Descanso Gardens Art Gallery from 10 – 4 pm. Come say hello and keep me company and see the works of 19 artists, including four paintings of mine.
Then, on Saturday, at 5 pm, please join me at the Women’s City Club of Pasadena (Blinn House) for the opening wine and cheese reception of the California Art Club’s “Concerto of Color” show. Admission and parking are free and the artists would really appreciate a great turnout. The Blinn House show features artwork from CAC Associates from the whole state of California. This is the third time I’ve been honored to be included in the biannual show. It’s a wonderful way to kick off the holiday party season!
High Sierra Landscape Painting – Bishop, Owens Valley
High Sierra Fall Color
(a ranch near Bishop, in the Owens Valley)
14 x 18 oil on canvas
SOLD
As I continue with my High Sierra fall series, this painting portrays a tranquil pasture land, which I’m pretty sure is named Round Valley. It’s near Bishop. The peaks may be Mt. Morgan and Mt. Abbot, or perhaps the one on the right is Mt. Tom. I’m not too good with my geography of that region, so I’d appreciate knowing the names so I can be accurate.
Sierra Cottonwoods – California Landscape Oil Painting – Impressionist Karen Winters
Cottonwoods
16 x 20″
Oil on canvas
SOLD
More Sierra Nevada paintings here
You will find other scenes from the same location at the above link.
These beautiful strong cottonwoods were an irresistible subject. The painting was one of the ones I took to Descanso Gardens for our holiday show, through early January. I have replaced the two sold paintings (Heaven and Nature Sing and this one) with two others. No empty spaces on the walls.
I heard on the news that there is enough snow around Mammoth for skiing – so many storms must be falling on the Sierras. Can a winter painting trip be far away?
Sierra Nevada Oil Painting Landscape – Heaven and Nature Sing – California Impressionist painting
“Heaven and Nature Sing”
16 x 20 inches oil on canvas
SOLD
Although this one is sold, you can see more Sierra Nevada paintings here
This is one of my favorite new paintings inspired by our High Sierra trip, and it represents a view of the Sierras in the afternoon, not far from Crowley Lake. In the afternoon, when a storm is in the air, the clouds hover around the top of the mountain to be backlit by the sun. The effect is nothing short of spectacular and truly expresses a feeling of spiritual joy. With that in mind, as I was searching for a title for this, I remembered a line from the Christmas carol, “Joy to the World.” The refrain is “and heaven and nature sing …” Being there and seeing this magnificent mountain crowned with light, I truly felt that heaven and nature were singing. So there you have it.
The most challenging part of this painting, to my surprise, was not painting the clouds and the light – it was defining the many gullies and ridges, all in deep shadow, that decorate the eastern slope. The values are very close but there needs to be enough definition for the eye to read it as a sculptured geological form … but not SO much definition that it appears that the shapes are light-struck. So much in that area has to be suggested rather than spelled out, lest it lose some of the air of mystery. And *that* is a constant challenge.
This painting will be among the select group of new works that I’ll be taking to Descanso Gardens on Friday morning for our Encore year end show. So if you are in LA and want to see it in person, that’s where it will be. If you are out of town and wish to purchase it, please let me know and I will replace it in the show with another of my recent works.
California Oak Trail – Impressionist Landscape Oil Painting
Morning on the Trail – Hall Canyon Oaks
Oil on hardboard panel
11 x 14 inches
This is a painting that I began last year, put aside and then worked on again recently with a fresh outlook. I think that all painters have paintings like these. Either we were too busy at the time working on other paintings, or somehow lost interest along the way, or otherwise decided that the time was not right to bring it to finish.
It’s been hanging where I see it whenever I pass by. Enough repetitive glances and I start thinking … what if I tried this, or that? What if I corrected this challenging passage? What if I tried a different color here or there? Or added some different shaped branches?
The fact is, until the time that a painting is signed sold and on its way to a new home, any one may be a “work in progress” and as our experience and vision changes, so does the way we express ourselves. And just as the natural world changes and morphs with time and the seasons, so do we.
California Original Oil Landscape – Sierra Vista
Sierra Nevada Vista
8 x 10 inches
Oil on canvas panel
Contact the artist for price information
A California original impressionist oil painting, inspired by autumn in the Eastern Sierra Nevadas. Mt Abbot and Mt. Morgan are featured rising above the Owens Valley, dressed in fall colors. Wildflowers still bloom, contrasting boldly with the brilliant blues of the mountain and skies. Although the mountaintops seem tranquil we were told that 90 mph winds were blowing off the summit. Down in the valley gusts blew us around as well.
Eastern Sierra Oil Painting – Autumn Cottonwoods
Autumn Cottonwoods
(Owens Valley, on Hwy 395)
12 x 16 oil on linen panel
SOLD
More Sierra Nevada paintings here
Last weekend we took a trip up into the Eastern Sierras for a painting and photo trip. Unfortunately the wind gusts were up to 15 miles per hour which made keeping a canvas on an easel pretty much impossible, so I made use of my sketchbook and camera instead. Best of all was the experience of being there and seeing the subtle change in the colors of the day from pre-dawn moments to post-sunset nocturnes. The days were long but oh so rewarding.
What attracted me to this scene was the contrast of the oranges and golds of the cottonwoods juxtaposed with the blue violets of the mountains. No exaggeration, the Eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada chain really is that color in the afternoon as the sun makes its descent into the west. One more good storm and the leaves will all be gone.
If you’re in Southern California, I’ll be showing my work at the Montrose Art Walk this Saturday, November 8 on Honolulu Avenue.
California Fall Landscape Oil Painting – Autumn Joy – Karen Winters
Autumn Joy
11 x 14 oil on canvas
(It was cloudy and rainy today so I couldn’t take the painting outdoors into natural light to photograph it, so there is some blurring that is not in the painting. I cant use a flash when the painting is wet, either. I’ll shoot it again when the weather is better. But it does look good in reality.)
In this typical California landscape, sycamore trees blaze with color on a local trail in Southern California. This scene is close to home in La Canada Flintridge, and I may be taking this painting next weekend to the Montrose Artwalk. If you’re a local person, look for me near the bowling alley on Honolulu Avenue in Montrose, zip code 91020.
If you’d like to purchase the painting before I take it to the artwalk, email me … karen@karenwinters.com
I came across a 1985 copy of Southwest Art the other day that had an article about artist Randall Lake, and some advice he had given to a student. Here are a few of the suggestions made:
“There are no short-cuts in this profession. For most of us, creativity has more to do with daily work than momentary inspiration. Don’t wait for the grand vision; work and re-work. When inspiration does come, your skills will be up to the task of using it effectively.”
“Painting is not a nine to five profession. It is a life’s work, whch demands that your schedule will vary.”
“Try many art forms and take risks. By that I mean go beyond what you are comfortable doing. If what you are doing doesn’t have the possiblity of failure, neither will it be brilliant. Exceptional accomplishment in any of the arts has always been the result of risk taking.”
“Always remain a student: learn through research, refinement and experimentation while remaining flexible. To paraphrase Henri Matisse: one should never become a prisoner of one’s style or reputation.”
Good words to live by as an artist!
