Moonstone Beach Surf – Central Coast Cambria Oil Painting – with video – Karen Winters, artist

Moonstone Beach Surf
Cambria, California
11 x 14 oil on linen panel

SOLD

This was painted last April (2010) during a California Art Club paintout. The rain came down where we were painting at San Luis Obispo Land Conservancy sites, so some of us headed for the coast nearby. It was incredibly cold and windy, but I had a really good time

This is a video my husband shot and edited – some highlights of me painting there. Please let me know if for any reason it doesn’t play for you. It is hosted on the Facebook server, not YouTube.

Moonstone Beach Tide – Cambria Seascape Plein Air Oil Painting by Karen Winters

Moonstone Beach Tide
11 x 14
Oil on linen panel
SOLD

See more of my Cambria paintings here

This painting was actually completed on location last spring on a paint out with the California Art Club, and due to an overload of work (and probably some forgetfulness on my part) it has been sitting in a dry box waiting to be discovered. In the process of cleaning up and organizing for the holidays I have uncovered more than a few paintings which I’ll be posting over the next few days/week.

This painting of Moonstone Beach was done on a day when it was raining heavily inland in San Luis Obispo. One of our fellow painters, Karl Dempwolf, told us that the beach was clear up in Cambria, so we loaded in the car and headed for the beach. The wind was blowing heavily and my new EasyL easel had to be weighted down to keep from blowing over. It all worked out.

Happy New Year to everyone. We’re staying in and staying safe tonight. It’s a very cold day in So. Cal, which is unusual even for December, so I’m catching up on my record-keeping and looking forward to some TV-watching later. Our kids gave us a beautiful new widescreen TV for Christmas and we’ve been completely entranced with it!

Sunset Walk – Los Osos Central Coast California Oil Painting by Karen Winters KWinters

Sunset Walk
Los Osos, Central California
Oil Painting
9″ x 12″
oil on canvas on hardboard

See more of my California Central Coast paintings here

When we were in the Central Coast area of California last spring, this scene suddenly caught my eye as we were driving back from Montana de Oro. The towering eucalyptus trees (a favorite of mine) framed a long walkway into the sunset. Although it’s a simple composition, it puts me back in that place with the dusty road, the sweet smell of gum trees, the haze in the air and the sun lowering and glowing through it all.

Last Sunday, we had the rare opportunity to watch a demonstration by noted painter Mian Situ for the California Art Club. It’s one of the many things that I really appreciate about being a member – there are so many occasions to learn something new and to be inspired by the “greats.” In addition to doing a masterful portrait in a very short period of time, Mian’s endearing personality and generous sharing of information made the occasion all the more special.

South Pasadena Arroyo Seco Eucalptus Oil Painting – Karen Winters – KWinters

“Arroyo Guardian”
9 x 12 inches
Pasadena Arroyo Seco oil painting

SOLD

This one is sold but you can see more Pasadena area paintings here

A stately old eucalyptus grows along Arroyo Drive in South Pasadena, standing guard at the edge of the Arroyo Seco.

October 2010 – exhibited in a California Art Club show at the South Pasadena Gallery, S. Pasadena, CA. The judge was the esteemed CAC Signature artist, Junn Roca.
Link to the So Pas Gallery

I have been painting like crazy here, and traveling to paint on location, but I always seem to run out of time to post what I’m doing. Some of the paintings are commissioned works which are surprise gifts for people, so I have to be a little careful about what I put where in this day of social networking and transparency.

We’ve made one recent trip to the eastern Sierra and hope to get a few more trips in soon. Southern California weather has been marked by the same June gloom/grayness that typified our summer. I’m looking forward to making a trip to Santa Barbara to see the Clyde Aspevig show before it closes in February 2011 – he’s among my favorite landscape artists – a list that is growing quite lengthy.

Cambria Pines Oil Painting – Santa Rosa Creek Trail, Central Coast, California

“Cambria Pines Sunset”
(on the Santa Rosa Creek Trail)
Oil Painting
16 x 12 inches
Oil on Canvas

Among the places we painted in Central Coast was the Santa Rosa Creek Trail, which goes inland from Cambria.
The trail is a part of the land cared for by the San Luis Obispo Land Conservancy, which hosted us on our paint out.
Santa Rosa Creek winds through beautiful hills and valleys until it finds its outlet.

See more of my Cambria paintings here

Bishop Peak Oil Painting, San Luis Obispo, Central Coast California Art

“Farm at Bishop Peak”
San Luis Obispo, Central Coast
oil painting
14 x 18 inches

See more of my California Central Coast paintings here

When I was painting in San Luis Obispo County earlier this spring with the California Art Club, I was especially attracted to the numerous large peaks that rise from the city of San Luis Obispo out to the sea, the last of which is Morro Rock. Bishop Peak (sometimes called Bishop’s Peak) is one of the Nine Sisters. Technically they are “volcanic plugs,” and the volcanoes that rose above them are long gone. Bishop Peak is the tallest of the formations, and it was noted in the diary of John Muir who wrote:

“The trail brings the traveler suddenly in sight of
Bishop Peak … The town is fairly encircled with beautiful hills…
the one just named being most conspicuous.”

The soft afternoon light and atmospheric mist from the sea made this a picture of rural tranquility that held great appeal for me.

Montana de Oro Spooners Cove San Luis Obispo oil painting

“Montana de Oro – Spooner’s Cove”
Oil painting
14 x 18

See more of my California Central Coast Paintings

This painting came out of one of our recent San Luis Obispo trips. I had often wanted to visit Montana de Oro, having heard about its beautiful seashore. Finally, I had the chance to paint it. The stormy sky added to the drama of the incoming surf, pounding the sharp shale rocks. The name of the park, Mountain of Gold, derives from the golden wildflowers that cover the hillsides in the spring. Can I resist the mental image that conjures up? I think a springtime painting trip will be a must.

Los Osos Valley Road – For the Love of the Land – California landscape oil painting – Central Coast

“For the Love of the Land”
Los Osos Valley Road, California Central Coast
12 x 16 inches
California landscape oil painting

See more of my California Central Coast paintings here

This painting is one of the works that resulted from my spring trip to the San Luis Obispo area with the California Art Club. I just got the news yesterday that it has been selected for inclusion in a special exhibition at the CAC gallery at the Old Mill in San Marino. The show, named Capturing California’s Preserved Lands and Historic Districts: Gems from the Central Coast will open August 31 and run through January 2, 2011. All of the paintings are for sale.

There will be an artists reception Thursday, September 2 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. This is the first time that I’ve been eligible as an Artist member to submit work for this gallery and I am delighted that this piece was chosen for the show.

The painting depicts a spot along the Los Osos Valley Road, toward sunset. The green grasses of spring were drying out and starting to turn that characteristic California gold.

I have more paintings which came out of that trip, and will be posting them here soon.


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California Landscape Painting – Cambria Farm – Central Coast California small format oil painting

Cambria Farm
6 x 8 oil painting on linen panel
Plein air field study

See more California Central Coast paintings here

An old farm building is surrounded by lofty eucalyptuses in Cambria. The marine layer had started to roll in, softening the contours of the landscape that day. Another quick study from our Central Coast California trip, with the California Art Club.

Interested in this painting?
Click this link to write me.
Or write karen at karenwinters.com See more of my paintings on my website

California Wildflower Landscape Cambria Lupine Flowers Plein Air Field Study

Cambria Lupine Flowers
8 x 6″ oil

Last spring, when we were in Central California with the California Art Club, we wandered through the countryside in search of wildflowers to paint. We came upon this beautiful hillside just covered with lupine and small orange flowers. The scent of the lupine was heady and I think the bees must have been drunk with it. As I painted this small study there was a constant buzzing sound around me. This study will provide information for a larger painting.

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