Brand 36 Show – coming fall 2007
“My Offering – My Confession” – watercolor on paper 22 x 30
I got notification today that my painting (above) has been accepted into Brand 36, The Brand Library and Art Center’s national “Works on Paper” show. Some of you who are regular readers of this blog might recognize the painting as very similar to Ofrenda, which I painted on Yupo in November of 2006. That small painting served as a starting point for this larger work. There were 650 entries, so I’m very honored to have my work chosen for the exhibition beginning Saturday, October 6 and continuing through November 17.
I am very excited about this opportunity to show my work in a new (to me) venue. The theme of the show is “Secrets and Confessions” – that of which you do not speak. I didn’t have anything particularly juicy to confess in an artistic form – other than my unnatural addiction to buying art supplies, which is probably rather common among artists, and not at all salacious. Because the show encompasses the time of the year in which the Dia de Los Muertos falls – I was inspired by the idea of someone visiting the cemetery and to make a confession as an offering. Who is she confessing to? And what is she saying? I will leave that story to your own imagination.
It’s been a very exciting few days for me. Yesterday I enjoyed my first group exhibition and sale with the California Art Club and two of the five paintings I brought found homes with collectors. More about that event tomorrow … time for me to get back to painting …
Roses at Twilight
“Roses at Twilight” (Descanso Gardens) – 9 x 12 oil on canvasboard – SOLD
Last night we went back to Descanso Gardens to meet my artpal Wendee for a picnic and to do a little plein air painting at “golden hour.” I don’t know if it’s just me, but it seems they’re making golden hour shorter and shorter these days. I painted for about 45 minutes – I got the block in finished (this was after about 15 minutes) and then went on to start to refine the image, but the light had changed so drastically that finishing it on site was impossible. Wendee will vouch for this, that when I threw in the towel because of the light change, I was ambivalent as to whether or not I could make anything of it at home. But this experience tells me not to give up on a painting just because it’s at an awkward stage (kind of like raising teenagers, so I’ve heard.) So I put it aside and took a fresh look at it this morning in the studio, and I’m content with the results.
Just for fun, I put it in a plein air frame (a scan) to see how it would look. I think it really helps set it off.
This weekend I’ll be showing my Pasadena paintings with the California Art Club at the Pasadena City Hall from 3 – 6 pm. If you’re in LA, please stop by and say hello.
Cobb Sunset Trail – New Gallery Site
“Cobb Sunset Trail” – 12 x 16 – oil on canvas
After a certain amount of procrastination, I’ve finally organized some of my favorite paintings (including this brand new one) into a gallery website separate from this blog. If you’d like to have a look, visit Karen Winters Fine Art or click the New Gallery Site icon in the right hand sidebar. I will be updating that site regularly, but I wanted to get something in place. If you find any links that don’t work, please let me know.
I’ve just joined two local art associations, the San Gabriel Fine Arts Association and The California Art Club and look forward to getting to know other artists and participating in paint outs and learning from the many fine artists who share their knowledge so generously. We are fortunate to have a lively and active arts community in the city, and I’m hoping to participate in every way that I can.
As a matter of fact, I’ve already taken part in two events at the SGFAA – I entered a watercolor painting for their July “Americana” show and was delighted to find that it won first prize. I’m sorry, I’ll have to wait until I visit the gallery to take a picture and post it. I framed it the night before it was due and neglected to scan it first. The other event, last Sunday was a wonderful demonstration by Joseph Stoddard, whose loose watercolors are a delight to behold. If you’re in the So. Cal. area, check out this group.
This Sunday I’m going to be taking part in a California Art Club paint out at Pasadena City Hall in honor of the refurbishment of their classic building, bringing it up to seismic standards and re-beautifying it as well. I’m really looking forward to the event and hoping that the day won’t be a scorcher.
Until then, I’ll be busily painting. Have a good weekend, everyone!
Eaton Canyon Morning
“Eaton Canyon Morning” 9 x 12 – oil on hardboard – SOLD
This morning was delightfully overcast and cool for an hour or so while I painted this in Eaton Canyon, in the northern part of Pasadena. The wash is bone dry and even the random grasses seemed to be struggling for whatever meager water they may find under the gravel and boulders.
I’m really looking forward to going back in the late afternoon to paint some of those shadows. I’ve painted the same area before in watercolor (below), but not in oil. Another day, another season, another medium – it’s a whole new experience. (And this time I didn’t see or hear anything scarier than a covey of quail!)
Painted this last September – “San Gabriel Sunset” – watercolor
Rosarium Sunset
“Rosarium Sunset” 8 x 10 oil on canvasboard
On the heels of yesterday’s plein air outing at the arroyo, we went to Descanso Gardens at sunset today for some more painting and photographing. Descanso is open Thursday nights for the months of July and August. I wait all year for this opportunity to see the beautiful gardens at “golden hour” – the loveliest time (other than dawn.)
This represents one of the paths lined with rose bushes. Roughing in the painting took about an hour, from 615 t0 715, and I added finishing touches (such as the sky) after I got home. At that time of day the light was changing so rapidly there was not much point in painting after an hour had elapsed. I finished it off at home, refinining edges, adjusting things. The above painting represents the colors as they really are under room light conditions. The photographs below are more bluish, representing shady daylight conditions.
I promised some people that the very next time I went out painting with my lightweight easel that I would take pictures of the shelf in closeup, so here they are. I made a cardboard mock-up to work out the dimensions, then gave it to my husband who cut it out of 1/4″ masonite. There are no supports underneath the shelf other than two little L brackets to reinforce the holes. It sits on the easel by a friction-fit.
San Gabriel Sunset
San Gabriel Sunset 14 x 11″ Oil on stretched canvas
SOLD
If one stands in Hahamongna Park, in the northern part of the Arroyo Seco, you can see NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab facility in the foothills of the mighty San Gabriel range. I am especially fond of drawing and painting in the arroyo area. There are so many different textures and colors to experience through course of the year, depending upon the time of day.
Let’s Play – Daily Painting
“Let’s Play” – 8 x 10 acrylic on canvasboard
A few days ago, at an art gathering, one of the people mentioned that a local art club was having a show on the theme “Americana” and invited me to submit something. I realized that it was too late to paint something in oils, due to the drying time, and I wanted more of an oil look instead of watercolor. So I decided to paint this in acrylic instead. I don’t often paint in acrylic but I have to say that the convenience of having something done and ready to show quickly is really appealing.
I’ll also consider this something for the Everyday Matters “Draw some sporting goods” challenge.
The more different media I explore, the more I come to realize that painting is just painting. Although there are specifics that are pertinent to the particular medium (painting from light to dark in watercolor, vs. dark to light in oil … having to ‘save whites’ in watercolor vs. the freedom of painting white over other layers in oils) … a great deal of painting is much the same. Brush handling, painting values and shapes, composition, modeling forms – these things are very much the same no matter the medium. The other day I picked up one of Charles Reid’s books on flower painting and I was amazed at the consistency between his watercolor and oil painting. They both portray Reid’s characteristic style and flair, even though rendered in completely different media.
So if you’ve been avoiding experimenting in a different medium, give it a try. You might be pleasantly surprised that it’s not as difficult a stretch as you might think.
White Oleander Trail
“White Oleander Trail” – 8 x 10 oil on canvasboard
This is the second in my ongoing series of “Trails of La Canada-Flintridge.” Eventually I’d like to paint all of the interesting byways that criss-cross our little town, winding along back yards and horse corrals in this distinctly suburban-semi-rural area. This part of the trail, in Flint Canyon, passes by fences that are crowned with huge oleander plants – in rose and white. I suppose one of these days I’ll include a hiker, biker or horseback rider on the trail, as they are used by all three. But for now I’ll leave it open and you can use your imagination to suggest who’ll be coming round the bend.
Lemons and Silver – California still life oil painting
“Lemons and Silver” – 8 7/8″ x 7 7/8″ – oil on masonite –
Arroyo Shelter – Daily Painting
Arroyo Shelter” – 8 x 10 – oil on canvasboard
When I take a walk through the Hahamongna wetlands area in the nearby arroyo, I love to look at the various forms of short shrubbery and small trees that are home to so many kinds of wildlife. Late in the day, rabbits emerge from the brush and red-winged blackbirds roost in the many small willow trees that fill the area.
I’m not sure of the name of these small trees – next time I’ll have to take a field guide along and see if I can identify them.
This week I’ve been taking a break from watercolor to work in oil and to put into practice some of what I’ve been learning. This week I was fortunate to come into contact with a woman who was giving up oils for acrylic painting and selling her supplies. So my paint box is restocked (for the moment) and I have a few new colors to experiment with, too.
