San Pasqual Stables – South Pasadena – Arroyo Seco
“San Pasqual Stables in the Morning” 9 x 12 – oil
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This morning I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the San Pasqual Stables in South Pasadena, California for a group paintout. The location was challenging because I don’t frequently do architectural subjects, and morning light is hard to catch because it changes so fast. So, I decided that I was mostly concerned about getting the “color notes” right for the barn, shadow, distant trees and foreground. If I happened to get those spots of color into good shapes, all the better, but I kept my expectations low just in case.
I liked how this came out and do think it represents the feeling of hazy light between 9:30 and 10 in the morning. After that time I worked on refinement of the image rather than trying to “chase the sun” and continue modifying the shadows, color etc. That means that the “bones” of this were laid down in 20 minutes, more or less, and then as I changed shapes and edges I mixed more of the same colors that I already had.
It would have been nice if there had been some people and horses standing around outside the stables, but mostly they were inside or moving through the scene quickly and I didn’t fancy trying to fake one, so I left it alone.
There were two somewhat exciting incidents while I was there 1) a golden eagle was spotted in the vicinity, slowly gliding over the area near a few crows and 2) a big male stallion got loose and came running right near where I was standing, at the side of a corral. Now I don’t know about horses, but I think they usually have people with them – they’re not like dogs that you can just let loose to find their way home. I saw this big guy running toward me and I just froze at my easel, not wanting him to see me as threatening in any way. In a few seconds he turned and went into a corral. A groom came running after him but was clearly keeping his distance so he didn’t spook him. The groom chained the horse in the corral and then he and a few other wranglers approached him gingerly and got a halter on him to lead him back to the barn. That stallion had a lot of attitude – I’m glad he didn’t decide that I was someone to have “issues” with.
Fortune Cookie – Karen Winters Daily Painting
“Fortune Cookie” – 5 x 7 – acrylic
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This painting was done in response to a creative challenge to “draw or paint something wrapped in plastic.” Since we had Chinese food the other night, I still had this fortune cookie sitting around, so I decided to paint that. The problem is, I can’t read the fortune inside without opening the plastic and I think I might like to paint it again. So, it will sit on my desk enigmatically with the life-changing fortune and lucky lottery numbers safely sealed inside. I have a feeling that if and when I do finally tear it open it will say something like “this fortune is past its sell-by date and has expired.”
I was thinking a little bit about how I’d approach the painting of transparent plastic and I finally settled in with the realization that it’s no different than painting anything else … it all comes down to color, value, shape and edge. Simple concepts when you get right to it.
Keeping to my art resolutions, tonight I started a figure drawing class with a new teacher and what was the first thing he said about modeling the head? “You have to pay attention to value, shape and edge …(we were working in charcoal so color wasn’t a factor.) So there you go – three teachers out of three and they all concur … value, color, shape, edge – that’s how you render any object – no matter what the medium. So the next time you want to paint a lake or a cloud or a parsnip – you know the answer.
California in the Rain
California in the Rain – 9 x 12 – acrylic on canvas on board
It’s coming down in buckets – really big buckets. Which is a good thing for our thirsty land and I’ll just have to put up with the people who don’t know how to drive in it.
If you’re a regular reader of this blog you know how I love our California eucalyptuses, a gift from our friends in Oz. Well, eucalyptuses are absolutely ethereal looking in the rain. Those towering masses seem to slip into the fog and mist revealing their forms in different ways.
This painting was done with just a handful of colors – viridian, yellow, black, white and burnt sienna. Using fewer colors lets me concentrate more on value and composition.
Here’s a good quote I saw today that relates to color:
“One can define the shape of every object in nature by showing the precise color tones of everything that surrounds it. Nature is not to be rendered with the colors one buys from a merchant, but by accurately imitating its color in relation to space and to the light that illuminates it.” Jean Baptiste Chardin.
Arroyo Seco morning – Karen Winters Daily Painting
Arroyo Seco Morning – 8 x 10 acrylic on canvas on board
As I am still recovering from my cold, I decided I didn’t want to risk a setback painting in oil with mineral spirits so I painted this small study in acrylic. No smell, no muss, no fuss. I can hardly wait to give it a coat of varnish and see the colors glow.
Although I will never lose my passion for watercolor and oil, I have to say that acrylic is growing on me – especially when it’s cold outside and I can’t have my studio window open for ventilation. Colors mix the same and there is so much in common with both oil and watercolor that it feels quite comfortable to me. Plus, acrylic allows you to do things that are just impossible in either oil or watercolor. Because it dries almost immediately you can layer and glaze as the spirit moves you – no waiting a day to come back and do that. And if you glaze a light wash on a dry layer and don’t like the effect – wipe it off (You sure can’t do that in watercolor.) Paint thick or paint thin – use washes or heavy brushwork. It’s really an amazing medium. Scumble, use a palette knife, get painterly – acrylic lets you do it.
This is a scene in Hahamongna Park, which is the upper arroyo seco and lies between Pasadena and my town, La Canada Flintridge. Right now the willows have turned yellow and tomorrow during the rainstorm the arroyo will be full of rushing water coursing out of the San Gabriel Mountains. One of these days (when I’m feeling better) I want to go down there when it’s raining or right after and see the power of nature. Don’t worry, I won’t do anything stupid like trying to go out in a wild river – I’m happy to watch it from high up on the riverbank.
Pasadena Colorado Street Bridge – 2007
Pasadena’s Colorado Street Bridge – 8 x 10 oil
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As the new year approaches, over a million people will make the pilgrimage to Pasadena, California for the Rose Parade. And perhaps one of our most elegant local landmarks is the Colorado Street Bridge, which I’ve painted several times this year and will no revisit in 2008. It spans the Arroyo Seco, along with the 134 freeway bridge, which can be seen in the background.
Now, onto my look back at some of my favorite art from the past year:
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July. “Sunset Trail” The Cobb Estate in Pasadena is a wild place in the foothills that is just minutes from the downtown. This painting gave me the opportunity to paint a sunset glow – a theme I’d continue throughout the rest of the year. |  |
August. This painting was done as an entry into a California Art Club juried competition – featuring scenes of Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley area. It’s hanging at Marston’s restaurant right now. I wasn’t doing a lot of architectural subjects at that time, so the challenge was a good one for me. |
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September. This painting, of Zuma Beach at Malibu, was painted for my first show at the Descanso Gardens Gallery. |
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October. I got the notification that this painting had been accepted into Watercolor West, a national transparent watercolor show. It’s radically different from other watercolors I’ve done but it was SO much fun to paint. This painting is currently at the Riverside Art Museum in Riverside, California |
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November. With fall persimmons appearing in the market, I picked up a few and painted a classic realistic still life setup with a complimentary color scheme. This painting is currently at the San Gabriel Fine Arts Association Gallery at the Artist of the Year show.. |
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December. If I had to pick one favorite painting of the year, this might be it Another sunset seascape, but more chromatic than Winging Home. This painting is currently at the Descanso Gardens Art Gallery in La Canada Flintridge. |
Coming up soon … a look back at my 2007 art goals, and some new goals for 2008
Winter Peace
Winter Peace – 12 x 16 oil on canvas
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On a day like this, with new evidence of the world’s continuing strife and disharmony, I’m posting this recent painting with a wish for peace and harmony in the coming year. My rational side knows that such a wish is unlikely to be fulfilled anytime soon, but the alternative is resignation to despair. And I’m not ready to take that curmudgeonly step.
In the next few days I’ll post a brief retrospective of my art year, looking back on 2007 goals and setting some new ones for the future.
Fall in Winter – in La Canada
Fall in Winter – 9 x 12 watercolor
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Today is the winter solstice and here in La Canada, California, the sycamores finally decided to show some fall color. All I can say is “it’s about time!” This is an impressionistic painting of Flint Canyon – an equestrian trail that borders a small creek here in our town. Due to the recent rains the water was plentiful, reflecting a brilliant blue sky (not shown — you’ll just have to imagine it). One of these days I’m going to go back to Hall Canyon and see how the sycamores are doing up there – and hope that there won’t be any mountain lions about.
This was painted with a very large round brush, quickly, and with a lot of thick, rich paint. The time of day depicted is about 11 am – and look how low the light is … you can tell by the light-struck sides of trees. If it were later in the year everything would be in deep shade with no sideways light.
A few things about leaves. Experienced teachers have always cautioned (whether painting in oil or watercolor) not to paint every leaf on a tree because it looks too fussy. Rather, paint the mass of leaves and then put a few distinct leaf shapes in to suggest the rest. Viewers are pretty clever, and we don’t have to put in minute details get the idea across. I think it’s rather like telling a good joke. If you have to explain it, it didn’t work.
Pond in the Woods
Pond in the Woods – 7.5 x 7 inches – watercolor
As I come to the conclusion of this winter series, I felt an urge to return to my roots in watercolor and to see how my experience of the medium has changed. As I have done in the past, I did no preliminary drawing of this rather abstract design. It was painted entirely with a No. 36 Goliath Round brush. It was my intention not to get too detailed here but to use negative painting to suggest some of the natural forms and to allow the viewer to have their own interpretation. I chose to use a limited palette to reflect the subtle colors of winter – the only spot of warm is in a pile of rocks in the middle ground.
Winter Road – Karen Winters Daily Painting
“Winter Road” – 8 x 10 acrylic on canvas board
Today’s painting has an unusual origin. I wanted to do another snowscape – perhaps a winding road type of picture as I’ve done of some fall and spring scenes. But I lacked a photo reference to work from and there’s no snow close by. So I took another picture of a summer scene and imagined what it might look like after a blanket of snow. This is the result. The thinking through process meant that I had to invent what was behind the foreground trees – because I couldn’t see through their summer garb. The real terrain was actually rather flat and I wanted to see more billowing drifted snow, which meant modeling mounds, thinking about lights and darks created by those mounds, and the color of the shadows. The cast shadows of the trees also helped describe the terrain. I decided that I would have the sun coming from the left, so I’ve touched a little warm color into the snowdrifts on the sunward side. A rural mailbox was added to clarify that this is a road, not a frozen river
An exercise like this causes me to think more about what I am painting rather than just copying it. How many cast shadows do I want to include? What color? What shape? Where do they fall? What is my pattern of darks and lights? What colors do I want to introduce for variety? Most importantly, what is the mood that I want to create?
One of my goals for the new year is to try to be even more observant about nature, wherever I may be. That means looking more closely at some of the details I’ve mentioned. It means noticing the effects of atmosphere on different days. It means looking at the structure of trees and shrubs and carefully noting their peculiar growth habits. I think that this practice will help a great deal with plein air painting as well.
I know that a lot of the US is laboring to clear away heavy snow left by blizzard conditions. In California we tend to romanticize and glamorize snow because we get so little of it. So this is my way of enjoying a white Christmas when the real thing is still a faraway dream.
The Woods in White – Karen Winters Daily Painting
“The Woods in White” – 8 x 10 – oil on canvas on board
High in the mountains above Los Angeles (near Big Bear) we are finally getting snow. Of course it’s the snowmaking equipment at Snow Summit and Bear Mountain, but hey, we’ll take what we can get. I would love to ski again like I did when we were raising our family, but I’m more than a little concerned about falling and breaking something. If I did ski I’d have to stick to the green bunny slopes. More likely I’d find a place to paint the snow instead.
Scenes like this one – partly from an old reference photo and partly from imagination – have a lot in common with abstract paintings. This was painted with a limited palette of ultramarine blue, thalo blue, yellow ochre and a small amount of alizarin crimson. And titanium white, of course.
