South Pasadena Painting – Plein air Paint out – Arroyo Drive Sycamores
The Sycamores of Arroyo Drive, South Pasadena
12 x 16 oil painting
This painting is available.
Write karen@karenwinters.com
This is the second in the series of paintings I’ll be bringing to the California Art Club Rialto Visions show. The Collector’s Preview is Tuesday night at the South Pasadena Library on El Centro Ave. Last week I was on Arroyo Drive, which skirts the Arroyo Seco in South Pasadena. Looking southward in the 400 block, the sycamores are just beginning to color up. In a few weeks they may either be brilliant orange and gold or a dusty brown. The coloration change seems to vary with the weather. In the afternoon the light streams through the trees, casting long shadows across the street. A baseball field in to the right, down the hill behind the trees. Although I paint architecture (and my architectural subjects have found new homes quite well) I still have a special fondness for trees and afternoon light. So how could I resist?
It’s sycamore season – that’s what it is … and I just love to paint their luminous trunks that pick up every color in the environment, at times looking violet, dusky brown or shades of orange and apricot, depending upon what’s close by.
Update on my relative: she is speaking again and seems to have weathered this storm. At 93, anything can happen to cause a cascade of unfortunate results. We are practicing watchful waiting and trusting the excellent skills of her medical team. Our thanks for all the positive thoughts.
Rialto Theater South Pasadena Plein Air Oil Painting
“The Rialto”
9 x 12
plein air oil painting on panel
SOLD
Last Sunday, a group of 30 or more plein air painters affiliated with the California Art Club gathered together in South Pasadena for a paint-out at the venerable Rialto Theater, which has fallen into disrepair in the past few years. The paintings which we created will be sold in the Rialto Visions show and a portion of the proceeds will go to restoring The Rialto to its former glory. Some of us also painted other scenes of South Pasadena, which I will be posting here and on My Gallery website.
I arrived at the event in the afternoon and caught the building in partial shade from across the street.
Although there were promos on the marquee for movies and theater rentals, I opted to leave it empty so that a potential purchaser could always imagine their favorite flick playing there, and relive some fond memories.
Descanso Gardens Path – California Impressionist Landscape
Descanso Gardens Path
9.7 x 7.6 inches
Acrylic on paper
SOLD
People often ask me what the word “Descanso” means. It comes from the Spanish verb, descansar meaning “to repose or rest”. So, Descanso Gardens suggests a place of rest and relaxation.
To counteract today’s politically and economically charged climate, I thought I’d paint something that you would find restful and energizing. A place of repose and calm. A place to recharge and restore your soul. My friend Ruth told me the other day that she likes the ‘paths of light’ that I put into my paintings. It made me happy that she noticed that because they are a prominent feature of many of my landscapes. So today’s painting features all the restful elements I can conjure up … a cared-for well-tended garden, a place of rest and a path of light, beckoning to brighter times ahead.
Sunset Soiree – California Impressionist Plein Air Genre Painting
“Sunset Soiree” SOLD
9 x 12 oil on canvas
Plein air painting
A few nights ago I had the pleasure of doing a plein air sunset painting while listening to the sweet sounds of The Crown City Brass Quintet. Wine, music, art, lovely people, gardens. It just doesn’t get any better than this!
And now, a few words about painting at sunset when much of the color has gone. What do you do? You invent it and you paint the color the way it might have been. Or, in the words of the late artist Milford Zornes “paint it the way you want it to be.” And so I did.
By the time I arrived at the event, around 6:30, the sun had settled behind the majestic pines and oaks. But what remained were hints of warm color that I exaggerated to create a mood. Painting in settings like this is a special treat for me because, unlike in a restaurant, cafe or on the beach, the people remain seated for the duration, so one’s painting isn’t ruined by the sudden rearrangement of of the models! This culture loving group gave me a rare opportunity to paint a genre scene in a leisurely hour and a half.
