Karen Winters California Impressionism New Works Show at Gale’s Restaurant, Pasadena

If you’ve been following my blog, you know I’ve been preparing for this event for some time.
So, if you’re in the LA area and would like to see my work in person, I invite you to come to my show of California impressionist fine art.

Place: Gale’s Restaurant
Address: 452 S. FairOaks in Pasadena, California
Dates: Sat. May 16 – Friday, July 10
Reception: Sunday afternoon, May 31, 4-6 pm.


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Drifters in the Stream – California botanical oil painting – Descanso Gardens

SOLD

Today I got the good news that this painting, of fall leaves at Descanso Gardens, has been juried into the Pasadena Society of Artists spring show. Previously it was juried into the California Art Club’s “Rivers and Harbors” show at the Pasadena Women’s City Club. I hope it finds a good home on this outing. It’s more abstract than most of my work and painting it was a bit like doing a big jigsaw puzzle.

The PSA show will run from April 29 to May 16 at the VIVA Gallery on Moorpark in Sherman Oaks.

Arroyo Seco Trail – Pasadena California Landscape Oil Painting

Arroyo Seco Trail
16 x 20 inches
Oil on Canvas
SOLD to a collector from Pasadena

See more Pasadena area paintings are here

This painting of the Arroyo Seco, featuring the Colorado Street Bridge, will be available starting May 17 at Gale’s Restaurant in Pasadena, where I will be having a solo show from mid May until early July. I will likely be using it on my postcard, so I need to hold it for the show.

Spring and fall are my favorite seasons in California, and I’d have a hard time deciding which I prefer. Fall is great for the foliage in the Sierras, but spring is wonderful for wildflowers and just the feeling of lush abundance.

I’m not sure about the name of the plant that has purple flowers. I’m guessing that it’s a ceanothus but I can’t be sure. If there’s a botanist in the house and you happen to take a walk down by the bridge, maybe you could ID it and let me know. (It’s not a garden lilac because they’re not in bloom yet and it didn’t have a lilac scent.) Maybe a native lilac species?

Once a month the California Art Club comes to the arroyo to paint. I’m usually busy on those days but this month I think I’ll try to join in the paint out with my CAC friends. It’s just the most beautiful time of the year, I think.

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Chinatown, Los Angeles oil painting – California Art Club Plein Air Paint Out

Chinatown Afternoon
11 x 14
plein air painting
oil on canvas panel
• SOLD

Good times just don’t get any better than this. The California Art Club, which is celebrating its centennial this year, invited all members to a big paintout in Los Angeles’ historic Chinatown. Although rain had been threatened, morning brought fair skies and the promise of a picture perfect day. We arrived around 10 am to a very well-organized reception, complete with coffee and pastries – and then we were free to roam the streets of Chinatown looking for the best angles.

CAC members were there at the gracious invitation of the Chinatown Business Improvement District and we were impressed by their hospitality, including the delicious artists’ reception which refreshed us at the end of the day.

To paint, I found an angle just off the main plaza on Broadway, looking toward two of the most colorful buildings. As I explained to people who passed by and stopped to chat with me as I painted, I’m more of a tree and mountain sort of gal (as you blog readers know) – but there’s something about the ornate facades of these beautiful historic buildings that just steal an artist’s heart. In the late afternoon the warm sun makes everything radiant. At that hour, once again, it’s the Chinatown I remember visiting as a child, throwing coins into the fountain to make a wish, buying candied ginger and imported seashells from faraway shores.

The smell of the sea, joss sticks, firecrackers, oolong tea, fried shrimp … the sounds of music emanating from every shop, the babble of conversation in Spanish, Chinese, English and the tinkle of wind chimes … the cool breeze riffling the hanging lanterns and flags … a visit to Chinatown is a sensual delight not to be missed. If you’re an Angeleno and you haven’t been there lately – it’s time to discover it again.

And speaking of things to discover … if you’re an artist living in California, come join us in the CAC and become a part of a grand artistic tradition.

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!

California Art Club – Women’s City Club Show

“As the Parade Passed By”
12 x 15 watercolor on paper

Yesterday I was very happy to learn that this painting has been juried into the upcoming California Art Club exhibition, “Concertos in Color” at the historic Blinn House in Pasadena. The opening reception will be December 7, from 5-7 pm and it is free to all to attend. I hope that you will join me there to see wonderful works of art from painters all over California. I am thrilled and honored that this is the third time my work has been included in the biannual show.

I am also posting this as a reminder that the holidays are coming and I am delighted to paint portraits (and other subject matter) on commission. So if you’ve been thinking of a very special gift for a friend, family member or business associate, please write me. (karen@karenwinters.com) … and put commission in the subject line.

South Pasadena Watercolor Painting – Buster’s Coffeehouse

Buster’s Coffeehouse – South Pasadena Landmark on Mission Street
11 x 15 watercolor on paper
SOLD

See more of my Pasadena area paintings here

This is the third painting that I submitted for the Rialto Visions benefit art show and sale, proceeds of which will help restore the Rialto Theater on Fair Oaks Avenue in South Pasadena.

Buster’s is a favorite hangout of ours when we’re in South Pasadena. Not only do they have great coffee and the small neighborhood atmosphere you can’t find in the ubiquitous ChainBucks stores, but they sell Fosselman’s ice cream, which is truly wonderful. It’s sort of like the Cheers of coffeehouses – you always run into someone you know when you go there.

About 100 paintings were submitted for the show. Tonight at 7 pm, there’s a Collector’s Preview at the South Pasadena Library Community Room on El Centro Street. The $25 admission fee (for non-participating artists) will help support the theater’s restoration. Come meet the artists and see a lot of art, fresh off the easel.

Laguna Reflections – Crescent Cove – Karen Winters original oil painting

“Laguna Beach Reflections (at Crescent Cove)”
14 x 18 oil on canvas

If you would like to find out if this painting is still available for sale…..

please write

(I have more Laguna paintings, please see My seascapes page

For all of your folks who visited me over the weekend at Sierra Madre, here’s how the painting turned out that I was working on when you stopped by.
I had a great time painting there and the cool scene seemed to help me tolerate the stifling heat.

This scene was inspired by my visit to Laguna Beach a month or so ago. What attracted me the most were the reflections in the sand, revealed for just moments as each wave receded. I’ve considered adding a few sea birds to this, either a sandpiper on the shore or a few gulls. What do you think?

I can hardly wait to go back there and paint with those cool ocean breezes.