Bishop Creek Oil Painting Miniature Sierra Nevada Fall Color Art by Karen Winters

Bishop Creek Reflections (near Lake Sabrina)
6 x 6 inch oil painting
Sierra Nevada fall color art
SOLD

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When the aspens turn, they are never lovelier than when their color is reflected in a mountain stream, as it is in this view of Bishop Creek, in the Eastern Sierra.

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Eastern Sierra Bishop Cottonwood Oil Painting Art by California landscape painter Karen Winters

Cottonwood Road, early autumn
9 x 12 inches
Bishop, eastern sierra nevada oil painting
SOLD, but I have more Sierra and cottonwood paintings, see link below

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Interested in this painting?
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September is just around the corner, and soon the cottonwoods of the Owens Valley, in the shadow of the Sierra, will be starting to turn from green to gold. This transitional period provides an interesting color palette as the warm colors overtake the cool leafy shades.

Lone Pine Afternoon – Mt. Whitney Sierra Landscape Oil Painting by Karen Winters



“Lone Pine Afternoon”
(Lone Pine Mountain, Mt. Whitney Portal, Eastern Sierra)
14 x 18 inches oil painting on canvas

As fall approaches, my thoughts turn to the color of the eastern Sierra, one of my favorite places to paint. I’m hoping I’ll get away for more Sierra painting this year, but show commitments might prevent that. We’ll have to play it by ear.

California impressionist landscape painting – Autumn on the Trail – La Canada Flintridge Art by Karen Winters


“Autumn on the Trail”
Flint Canyon Trail, La Canada Flintridge, California
Near Pasadena’s Arroyo Seco

11 x 14 inches
oil on canvas

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The equestrian and jogging trails that wind through La Canada Flintridge are overhung with sycamore, oak and eucalyptus trees. In the fall the colors meld and fairly glow with the warm light. This stretch of trail is near Berkshire Avenue, and is popular with hikers, joggers and horseback riders alike.

The fun part of painting this, for me, was rendering the different textures of bark, turning leaves, green foliage, etc. Sycamores have a distinctively different look from eucalyptus trees, and their bark reflects light in a different way. In an area like this, the bright light is bouncing off the fallen leaves and reflecting up into the trunks and branches in interesting ways. I decided to restrict this painting to a secondary triadic color scheme (orange, green, violet) which was natural for the time of year.

To learn more about La Canada Trails, visit The La Canada Trails Council website

Sunset On Descanso Pond – Descanso Gardens California impressionist lake oil painting by Karen Winters

“Sunset On Descanso Pond”
Descanso Gardens Art
16 x 20 oil painting
SOLD

I took this new painting “Sunset on Descanso Pond” to the Colony Theatre in Burbank today for a solo show in conjunction with their presentation of “On Golden Pond,” running from July 27 – August 28, starring Hal Linden. There is a cozy gallery area inside the theater with plenty of room for the seventeen paintings I brought. Not all the paintings are of ponds or lakes, of course. There are eastern Sierra scenes, vineyards, seascapes and more.

Sunset on Descanso Pond features the bird sanctuary area, where waterfowl, turtles and other types of wildlife abound. We used to enjoy visiting that spot often when the children were young and feeding or stale bread to the ducks and geese was permitted.

Below is the Central California landscape that I painted expressly for this show as a theme piece.

The title is “Return to Golden Pond” and it is 14 x 18, oil on canvas.

Pride Mountain Vineyard – Napa California Vineyard Oil Painting by Karen Winters


“Pride Mountain Vineyard, Autumn 2010”
9 x 12 vineyard oil painting on plein air linen panel
Private Collection (sold)

This painting is sold, but you can see more of my vineyard paintings here

Last autumn, while visiting our children over Thanksgiving, we had the pleasure of visiting this wonderful vineyard on Spring Mountain near St. Helena, above Napa Valley, California. The wines were superb and we thoroughly enjoyed the tour which was given by a very knowledgeable and entertaining man who was also a refugee from the advertising business, like me. The day was magical in every way. We picnicked on a hillside overlooking the vineyard fall color. Bread, wine, cheese, sausages, more wine, fall color, crisp air … ahhhh.

This commissioned painting evolved out of that delicious fall inspiration. I’d love to go back there again to paint in another season – maybe while the grapes are still on the vines.

Show reminder: The California Art Club 100th Annual Gold Medal show continues at the Pasadena Museum of California Art – through April 21. Check the museum website for days and hours. Be sure to see my painting, “Gaviota Springtime.” It’s in the side room where the smaller works are hung.

Sierra Oil Painting – Sierra Daybreak – Owens Valley. California landscape painting by Karen Winters

Sierra Daybreak
6 x 12 inches
SOLD
Oil on canvas laid on panel

Light peeks over the rim of the White Mountains to the east of Owens Valley, at the base of the Sierras. If you turned and looked westward, you would see Mt. Tom, almost touched by alpenglow. It was cold and clear that November morning. Thankfully I had a hot thermos of coffee with me. It was autumn, and the dry grasses and wildflowers were ruddy looking at sunrise. A perfect complement to the cool blueviolet mountains.

More Sierra Nevada paintings here

Interested in this painting?
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High Sierra California landscape ranch painting- Bishop, California


Grazing in Paradise
8 x 10 oil painting

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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.

Windy Vineyard – Temecula Vineyard Landscape Oil Painting

“Windy Vineyard”
12 x 9 oil on canvas laid on panel
Plein air landscape, Temecula,
Falkner Vineyard. November 2010

SOLD

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This was the third painting I worked on last year at the Falkner Vineyard paint out. I can’t say it was the third painting completed, because the light had changed so completely late in the afternoon (and a cloud bank rolled in) so I knew it was time to call it a day.
I finished it up back in the studio where there was considerably less wine, and a lot less wind.

The folks at the vineyard had a nice reception for us after we all finished painting for the day. After a glass of “Luscious Lips” I erroneously declared this one to be titled “Vindy Wineyard.” The alternate name stuck. So you can call it Vindy Wineyard or Windy Vineyard, depending upon how much Luscious Lips you’ve imbibed.

Have I ever mentioned here that I love to paint eucalyptuses? Only about a hundred times, right?

Karen Winters paints at Falkner Vineyard in Temecula, California

Mt. Whitney Portal Lone Pine painting – Eastern Sierra Nevada Landscape oil painting by Karen Winters

“The Way to Mt. Whitney”
(Lone Pine, Eastern Sierra, Mt. Whitney Portal)
18 x 24 inches
Oil painting on canvas

SOLD

Although this painting is sold, find more Sierra Nevada paintings here

These days I’ve been completing some of my Sierra paintings that I’ve been working on for awhile. During the holidays things got so busy that I didn’t have the time to bring them to finish.

Interesting facts about Mt. Whitney and the Lone Pine area:

Mt. Whitney (slightly right of center in the painting) is the highest mountain the lowest 48 states, and is the most-climbed peak in the Sierra and one of the most climbed mountains in the US. It is composed of granite and is a “jointed” formation. Looking at Whitney from its east face, a formation known as “The Needles” is directly to the left.

There is little rainfall most of the year, so the eastern slopes reflect that climate. Below there are alpine forests, but at the higher reaches greenery is scarce, dominated by gray granite.