Eaton Canyon Afternoon Walk – Altadena California impressionist oil painting
Eaton Canyon Afternoon Walk
8 x 10 inches
oil on canvas plein air panel
SOLD
A springtime walk through the trails of Eaton Canyon, in the greater Pasadena/Altadena area in Southern California.
The wildflower daisy bushes are in bloom in the cool, but warming weather.
San Gabriel View – California impressionist eucalyptus painting – Oak Grove Park, La Canada
“San Gabriel View”
Original 9 x 12 oil painting of eucalyptus trees in
Oak Grove Park, AKA Hahamongna Park
between Pasadena and La Canada, CA
See more Pasadena and La Canada area paintings here
The San Gabriel mountains provide a backdrop to a riparian environment where eucalyptus, willow and other trees and shrubs grow in the watershed area known as Hahamongna Park. Formerly known as Oak Grove Park, it is a popular recreation area for hikers, frisbee players and mountain lions. (Just kidding, but they have been spotted occasionally in the area.) This view features one of the beautiful eucalyptus trees and the wildflowers and grasses that flourish in the springtime.
Many thanks to my lovely collector who took home “All on a Fine Spring Day” today.
California impressionist landscape oil painting – Blustery Day Sycamore Tree by karen Winters
“Blustery Day”
11 x 14 oil painting on canvas
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A sycamore caught in the act of changing colors is ruffled by a passing breeze near Eaton Canyon, in Altadena, CA
Mary-Linns Bridal Shop Pasadena – Urban Oil Painting Wedding Dress shopping art
‘When you find ‘The One'”
11 x 14 oil painting on canvas
Wedding gown shoppers at Mary Linn’s Bridal Shop in Pasadena, California
For a long time, I’ve wanted to paint a charming bridal shop in Pasadena named Mary Linns. I’m guessing that it has been there a very long time and no doubt contributed to the joy of thousands and thousands of brides. This young couple was window shopping. I can only imagine what was going through both their minds. I think this has a nice narrative quality to it. It happense to be Pasadena, but it could really be anywhere that young lovers plan their future.
Pasadena City Hall Oil Painting – Rainy Night – California Art Club Show at the Old Mill
A Rainy Night at City Hall
(Pasadena, California)
14 x 11 inch oil painting
This painting will be included in the next California Art Club show at the Old Mill in San Marino as part of the ten-year anniversary celebration: Urban California II. The address for the Old Mill is 1120 Old Mill Road, San Marino, CA.
The show will run from September 7, 2011 through January 8, 2012, with an artists reception on Thursday, September 15, from 5:30 – 7:30 pm.
I loved the colors as they shimmered in the wet pavement. The scene reminded me of those architectural renderings of buildings, where the sidewalks and streets are always shiny and fresh as though it has just rained.
California impressionist landscape painting – Autumn on the Trail – La Canada Flintridge Art by Karen Winters
“Autumn on the Trail”
Flint Canyon Trail, La Canada Flintridge, California
Near Pasadena’s Arroyo Seco
11 x 14 inches
oil on canvas
See more California trail paintings here
The equestrian and jogging trails that wind through La Canada Flintridge are overhung with sycamore, oak and eucalyptus trees. In the fall the colors meld and fairly glow with the warm light. This stretch of trail is near Berkshire Avenue, and is popular with hikers, joggers and horseback riders alike.
The fun part of painting this, for me, was rendering the different textures of bark, turning leaves, green foliage, etc. Sycamores have a distinctively different look from eucalyptus trees, and their bark reflects light in a different way. In an area like this, the bright light is bouncing off the fallen leaves and reflecting up into the trunks and branches in interesting ways. I decided to restrict this painting to a secondary triadic color scheme (orange, green, violet) which was natural for the time of year.
To learn more about La Canada Trails, visit The La Canada Trails Council website
Descanso Gardens Rosarium Wedding Painting – Live event wedding painter
Descanso Gardens Rose Garden (Rosarium) Wedding
16 x 20 oil on canvas
Live event painting
SOLD
See more of my wedding paintings here.
Interested in having me paint at your wedding? Please write
I had the honor of painting this live event at Descanso Gardens for some dear friends who are also collectors of my work. The occasion was the marriage of their daughter to a fine young man. The party was going to be in the evening which presented certain strategic challenges – namely, painting at the time of day that the light was changing the most rapidly. The bride and groom couldn’t be dancing in the dark under the pavilion while the sun was still shining brightly. Nor would it make sense to paint the whole thing in the dark, because then the beautiful garden couldn’t be seen. We decided on a twilight look, and I painted the garden as rapidly as I could right after the ceremony, knowing that I could always paint the sky in later. It was a lovely occasion, and one that I hope they will always remember with romantic notions, whenever they look upon the painting of that day.
Sweet Pea Cottage Garden Springtime Figurative Pasadena Oil Painting by Karen Winters
Sweet Pea Springtime
(Cottage garden, Pasadena, California)
14 x 11 inches
Oil painting on canvas
I’ve been thinking about painting this subject for several years, since my husband and I were out on a walk in Pasadena and we came upon a scene of a woman cutting sweet peas along the cottage garden path leading to her front door. The location is near S. El Molino Street, or S. Oak Knoll, near Cornell, but I neglected to write down the exact address. I told her I was a painter and asked her permission to take a picture and she pleasantly agreed. I changed the color of her dress from periwinkle blue to white because it contrasted better with the green of the sweet pea vines.
The picture was taken in March when everything was verdant green, and the flowers – snapdragons, pansies, poppies and more – were at peak bloom. I should try to walk the area again some time and see if I recognize the houses and the path.
Although I prefer to do plein air studies as preparation for studio paintings, there are some occasions when a composition just presents itself to you and there you are without an easel, and the light fading fast. This was one of those occasions when I was glad I had a camera with me.
Heavenly Light – California Tonalist Landscape Painting – Devils Gate Dam – Hahamongna Park – Arroyo Seco by Karen Winters
SOLD
“Heavenly Light at Devil’s Gate Dam”
(upper Arroyo Seco –
Hahamongna Park – La Canada Flintridge, Pasadena)
9 x 12 oil on linen plein air panel
Interested in this painting?
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When we have heavy rain, the waters really back up behind Devil’s Gate Dam in the Upper Arroyo Seco, between La Canada Flintridge and Pasadena.
The graceful eucalyptus and willows have their feet in swampy water. I’m sure the water loving willows love it – not so sure about the eucalyptus. In time the waters will filter down into the aquifer, recharging the subterranean reservoir. But for now, they provide a beautiful reflecting surface in which to see the ever-changing skies.
Eaton Canyon painting – California landscape oil painting by Karen Winters
“The Canyon Calls”
(Eaton Canyon, Pasadena/Altadena area)
9 x 12 inches oil painting on canvas
SOLD
See more Pasadena area paintings here
Nourished by the waters gushing out of the San Gabriel Mountains, Eaton Canyon explodes into delirious bloom – the wild mustard in shades of yellow and purple duking it out with penstemon and purple nightshade. With each bend of the trail – through the nature center area or up in the wilder parts, new vistas are revealed. Watch out for rattlesnakes and poison oak, though. This is wild country – and only partly tamed by trailbuilders.
