Morro Bay, Morro Rock plein air oil painting

Morro Bay High Tide
Plein air painting 8 x 10 oil on canvas
Near Los Osos, Baywood, CA

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

This is one of my favorite spots to paint whenever I go to the San Luis Obispo area. I think it just captures the feeling of this quiet coastal area with eucalyptus trees, Morro Bay, Morro Rock and watercraft. This painting has the official stamp of the San Luis Obispo Plein Air Festival on the reverse side.

See more of my Morro Bay and Morro Rock paintings here

See more of my California Central Coast paintings here

San Luis Obispo Creek Oil Painting

San Luis Obispo Creek
9 x 12 inch oil painting
Available.

(this view features a bridge over the creek. I chose an angle that did not show the cement walkways, as I prefer the natural look.)

Interested in this painting? See more of my California Central Coast paintings here

See more of my paintings on my website

San Luis Obispo Creek winds through the Central California city of San Luis Obispo, before emptying into the Pacific Ocean near Avila Beach. Numerous restaurants line the banks of the creek, and if you eat on one of their patios during the summer, you’ll be treated to the sounds of a chorus of frogs. Occasionally steelhead trout can be seen in the waters. An annual cleanup day keeps the creek in good condition, a source of pride for the community.

Sunset Eucalyptus California impressionist oil painting by Karen Winters

Sunset Eucalyptus
oil painting
8 x 10 inches

See more of my eucalyptus tree paintings here
See more of my Malibu paintings here


Click this link to write me.

I love paintings sunsets, and eucalyptus. These eucs near Pepperdine University at Malibu, California, were a natural subject choice for me.

San Luis Obispo Flower Fields – California impressionist painting – Central Coast

San Luis Obispo Flower Fields
9 x 12
oil on linen plein air panel

SOLD

See more of my California Central Coast paintings here

This is one of the paintings that I did for the San Luis Obispo Plein Air Festival, sponsored by the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art.

It was painted the first day of the paint out, bright and early Monday morning, along a rural road. A photographer for SLO City News saw me painting by the side of the road and spent some time taking pictures of the work in progress. It was a nice surprise to find out that it made the cover of the paper …

Sycamore Shimmer – California landscape tree oil painting by Karen Winters

Sycamore Shimmer
8 x 10 oil on linen plein air panel
SOLD

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

See more of my sycamore paintings here
See more of my California Central Coast paintings here

This painting was painted for the 2012 San Luis Obispo Plein Air Festival and hung in the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art.
The official festival stamp is on the back side. Sycamores are among our most beautiful California trees, and in the fall they are especially radiant as the colors change.

The active brushwork indicates the way the breeze stirs the leaves of the tree. The use of transparent color creates a luminosity that makes the leaves glow as though light was shining through them.

At the Hacienda – Mission San Antonio de Padua Plein air painting by Karen Winters

“Meanwhile, at the Hacienda”
9 x 12 oil on linen panel
plein air painting – painted at Mission San Antonio de Padua
California Central Coast area

During the California Art Club paint out at the mission, I came upon this small guest house which intrigued me as a painting subject. In the late afternoon light, I could imagine it as an old California adobe, cool inside in spite of the surrounding heat. Some early model chickens miraculously appeared where a late model car had been.

California Mission San Antonio de Padua, landscape oil painting by Karen Winters


Mission San Antonio Morning
(San Antonio de Padua, California Central Coast, northwest of Paso Robles)
9 x 12 inches
Oil on linen plein air panel

In early June 2012, I joined a group of other California Art Club artists to paint at Mission San Antonio de Padua, a California mission that is the most “untouched” of the chain. Although some outbuildings and residential quarters have been added, the setting is very much as it might have been hundreds of years ago. This side of the building, the facade where one enters the church, remains much as it was in the early years. By mid day this was all in shade, so morning is the time to catch it. We were up before dawn getting set up to capture the light. We were warned several times to watch out for rattlesnakes. It’s easy to become so focused on what you’re painting that you might not notice one that’s emerged from a hole while you are painting. I didn’t see one, thankfully, but I was certainly careful where I stepped.

Tejon Ranch California Oak Landscape Plein Air Painting – Welcome Shade

SOLD
“Welcome Shade”
9 x 12 oil on plein air linen panel
Painted at the Tejon Ranch, May 2012


Click this link to write me.

See more of my oak tree paintings here

In the middle of a warm spring day, just about high noon, a mighty Tejon Ranch oak spreads its limbs to offer shade to all who visit. Cattle, mostly, but most likely some other critters, too. This majestic tree was silhouetted against the rolling hills and mountains of the ranch. Wherever you look, beauty surrounds you, making it a real treat for plein air painters – even during the part of the day when the light is less than dramatic. (That’s why we get up at dawn and stay painting until moonrise, when we can.

Below, a photo of my work in progress. There were occasional gusts of wind which threatened to topple my umbrella. A road hazard sawhorse came in handy. Sometimes you’ve just got to improvise.

Sycamore Quartet – California landscape painting at the Tejon Ranch

Sycamore Quartet”
12 x 12 inches
Oil on linen plein air panel


Click this link to write me.

Between outdoor shows, travel, commissions and paint outs, I haven’t been taking the time to update my blog, but I’m going to try to get back on top of that. This was painted last week at the Tejon Ranch on a paint out with the Kern County chapter of the California Art Club.

http://www.karenwinters.com
http://www.karensblog.com

This grove of sycamores was growing along side a stream bed. I set up my easel near by, taking care to keep a lookout for rattlesnakes. When an artist is concentrating and working in one area for a long time, a snake can quietly move in – even next to your easel, and you wouldn’t know it. The tall grasses are a perfect hiding spot. Fortunately, this was only a broken tree limb (below). But it sure gave me a start for a moment!

Tree limb looks like a snake

When you look at the picture below you might notice that there is no dazzling light. That’s because the ending photo was taken after the moment of light was long gone. When painting outdoors you often have to hold the image in your memory because the light is constantly shifting.

If you’re in the LA area, you are invited to attend the reception for my solo show at Gale’s Restaurant in Pasadena, from 4-6 pm. Gale’s is at 452 S. Fairoaks Avenue, just south of Del Mar. More about the event tomorrow.

Peaceful Waters California oil painting – California Art Club Gold Medal Show


SOLD
“Peaceful Waters”
9 x 12 oil on linen
Devereux Slough in Santa Barbara


Click this link to write me.

This painting was accepted into the 101st annual California Gold Medal show, opening Saturday night at a gala party at the Autry National Museum in Los Angeles.

The slough is just on the border of the University of California at Santa Barbara. The morning I was there a marine layer was partly cloaking the beautiful eucalyptus trees, which made created wonderful reflections in the water.