Pasadena Arroyo Seco Paintings – new show for Art Night
Arroyo Pond – 11″ x 14″ oil on canvas – Click to enlarge
Under Autumn Skies – 11″ x 14″ oil on canvas – Click to enlarge
SOLD
New California Art Club Show
See more of my arroyo seco paintings here.
Yesterday I got official notification that these two paintings have been accepted into a special exhibition of the California Art Club featuring paintings of the Arroyo Seco area of Pasadena. These paintings are of the northernmost part of the Arroyo, near JPL and Devils Gate Dam, on the border of La Canada Flintridge, my home town.
The show will be hung in the Pasadena Public Library and will open Friday night, March 14 (this Friday) and continue through March 30.
Reception is from 6 to 10 pm and artists will be present to chat with. The show is part of Pasadena’s bi-annual ArtNight – a great event in which all of Pasadena’s many museums and concert venues are open, free, for the evening. Shuttle buses take art lovers around to all the locations so you don’t have to keep driving and parking. More information about ArtNight can be found here.
So, if you’re in LA or especially if you live near Pasadena, you should really get out and enjoy this special evening of art, music and more. And if you get by the Pasadena Library, stop by and say hi.
Earlier that same evening, I’ll be at the Chevy Chase Country Club for the opening of another show featuring paintings of the club, canyon and surrounds. More details about that (and pictures) in a day or two.
Now you know why I’ve been saying I’ve been crazy busy for the past month or so!
Eaton Canyon Stream – Karen Winters Daily Painting
Eaton Canyon Stream – 9 x 12 oil on canvas on board
Eaton Canyon, in Altadena (near Pasadena, California) is running with water this time of year. This painting is of the east side of the riverbed, looking southward.
Beneath the Bridge – Pasadena – Arroyo Seco -Daily Painting
First Prize – “Beneath the Bridge” 5 x 7 inches oil on panel
SOLD to a collector from Pasadena
Yesterday I got the notification that this painting received First Prize in an annual Small Images show competition for the Verdugo Hills Art Association. The show is hanging until late March at the Pasadena Public Library in Pasadena California. It depicts one of the two bridges that span the Arroyo Seco.
Mountain Lake – Karen Winters Daily Painting
SOLD – “Spring Thaw at a Mountain Lake” 11 x 14 watercolor
Although it may seem that I’ve been missing in action, I’ve been busily working on many deadlines for different shows, and now some of that is behind me. Other deadlines loom, but they’re at a manageable distance. I took a little time tonight to work on this simple watercolor of a mountain scene, using a limited color palette of ultramarine blue, thalo blue, burnt sienna and sap green. I picked up an interesting tip from artist Al Setton, who I watched demonstrate a few nights ago. When he paints in watercolor or acrylic he keeps three rinse water containers. One for rinsing warm colors, one for cool and one clear water. When you’re painting in a hurry and don’t want to take the time to rinse twice (once in dirty water, once in clear) – if you consistently use the right rinse water before continuing with the same color, you won’t have much of a problem. It’s when you rinse in greenish water and then try to paint red that you can get in big trouble.
Eaton Canyon Trail – Pasadena – Karen Winters Plein Air Daily Painting
Eaton Canyon Trail
8 x 10 oil on canvasboard
A plein air adventure SOLD
Although I had a wonderful time enjoying the company of my art pal Wendee while painting out in nature, today, just about everything that could go wrong, did.
When we got to the location, I discovered that I had left my palette at home. I had brushes and paint but no palette. After rooting around in the trunk of the car I found an empty Fedex envelope that served the purpose.
When you absolutely, positively have to paint.
It was quite breezy out there. So breezy, in fact, that the panel kept flying off the easel and landing on the palette. Yuk. So I ended up holding the painting in one hand (like the palette I didn’t have) instead of on the easel. It worked out ok.
By the time I got this far, the light had changed too much to continue. So I took a picture and finished it at home, in studio. (As above.) Thus ends the tale of lemonade from lemons, and one woman’s determination to enjoy her paintout day, no matter what.
Sycamores and Sand
SOLD
Sycamores and Sand – 5 x 7 acrylic on canvas on board
Click for actual size painting
Colors are strongest at sunset and dawn. In this miniature painting of a winter sunrise, the dawn touches wildflowers and clinging sycamore leaves and makes them shimmer. The location is near Palm Springs in one of the canyons where water and plant life are abundant.
At a Lavender Farm – Karen Winters Daily Painting
“At a Lavender Farm”
5 x 7 mixed media (watercolor and acrylic)
We have some friends who live in northern California who own a lavender farm. The climate is perfect for growing this beautiful fragrant plant. The plants actually grow in more regular rows than this, but I sort of like the wild blowsy look.
Arroyo Pond – Arroyo Seco Painting – Karen Winters
Arroyo Pond – 12 x 16 oil on canvas
When the rains come, a part of the upper Arroyo Seco (in Hahmongna Park) can fill up with water, creating a seasonal pond. Here’s how it looked on one overcast day in early spring. I’m wondering what the current rainstorm will bring (this was from a few years ago.)
Conventional wisdom says that there should be a vertical element in a composition for balance when it is primarily horizontal, but in this case I think the purely horizontal format helps to reinforce the feeling of peace and tranquility. This view is from above Devils Gate – looking southward in the early morning in the direction of the Colorado Street Bridge. The hazy mist is typical when there’s a lot of moisture in the air.
Winter Reflections – Daily Painting
Winter Reflections – 10.8 x 7.8 inches – watercolor on paper
A subdued day – quiet colors under a grayed sky. Could a few drops of rain be ready to fall?
Early this morning, when there was a break in the storm, I went to Hahamongna Park to see how the Arroyo Seco river was flowing. There was certainly a volume of water, but nothing approaching dangerous. The stream was about a foot deep, I’d estimate, and about 15 feet wide at its widest. And there was snow in the mountains above. I would have liked to have painted but another storm started, so I just took photos instead.
Later today we spent some time at the Pasadena Museum of California art where a celebration is being planned to honor Milford Zornes, a celebrated watercolorist who is 100 years old – and still painting! Although Milford suffers from macular degeneration, he continues to produce remarkable works of art. We should all be so fortunate to have so many years to pursue our passion. They were hanging the Zornes show while we were there and what I saw of it looked spectacular. There were paintings from many private collections, from the 50s up to more recent times. His use of graduated washes is quite incredible and I look forward to seeing his works in more detail.
Arroyo Ramble – Pasadena Arroyo Seco
Arroyo Ramble 12 x 16 inches – oil
This is a part of the Arroyo Seco – a sandy river bottom that fills with water whenever there’s a big rain (like now.) One of these days soon I’m going to head over there and try to find some way to plein air paint while the waters are still flowing. I love it that we live in an area where wild nature is so close by (like 5 minutes away.) If you live in a rural area, that’s no big deal. But we live in a suburb of Los Angeles – so every bit of wilderness is treasured. Those are the San Gabriel mountains in the distance and they really are violet at certain times of the day. If the storm clears, maybe I’ll get over there tomorrow.
More later …
