Sunset Palms in California – Impressionist Landscape Oil Painting
“Sunset Palms”
9 x 12 oil on birch ply panel
In Los Angeles you can look almost anywhere and see rows of palm trees in the distance, lining a street. This group just happens to be adjacent to my house, which comes in handy for painting. The sunset was spectacular a few nights ago – presenting a veritable rainbow of hues from blue violet through pink, yellow and orange. If there ever was a subject that said “California” – this is it.
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Batiquitos Lagoon, Carlsbad Plein Air Oil Painting – Batiquitos View – by contemporary California impressionist Karen Winters
Batiquitos Lagoon View
9 x 12 plein air oil painting
Carlsbad, California wetlands landscape art
SOLD
Yesterday, my husband and I went to Carlsbad, CA (in San Diego County) where I fell in love with this beautiful eucalyptus guarding the trail to the Batiquitos lagoon. The tide seemed to be fully in at the time of our visit – late afternoon. This is the second time I’ve painted Batiquitos, and I expect it won’t be the last. Anywhere that there are eucalyptus trees and water is a winner with me. I was surprised to see so much green still in the grasses, considering that it is approaching the driest time of the year. But there was a lot of humidity in the air, so maybe that helps.
Here’s a previous Batiquitos painting which was based on a study like the one above.
Batiquitos Path
20 x 24 oil on canvas
SOLD
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
Laguna Beach Main Beach Sunset Oil Painting – “Laguna Main Beach Sunset” by California Impressionist Karen Winters
Laguna Main Beach Sunset
8 x 10 oil painting
Linen plein air panel
SOLD
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Beautiful days and glorious sunsets … no wonder Laguna Beach is such a romantic and popular tourist destination. If there are any clouds in the sky at all – even a “marine layer” moving in and out, you can count on a spectacular sunset. One of the things that I really enjoy about painting seascape sunsets is that they often have built in complementary pairs – blues and oranges, yellows and violets, warms and cools. When nature provides you with a palette – go with it.
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.
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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.
California impressionist oil painting Chapparal Bloom by Karen Winters
“Chapparal Bloom”
San Gabriel Mountains
8 x 10 inches oil on plein air panel
California is colorful all year long, not only in the springtime. Summer and fall wildflowers include buckwheat and other chapparal natives. It’s an earth-tone palette, full of greens, russets, umbers and golds. The buckwheat, when it dries, is a good match for burnt sienna.
I never tire of painting the tapestry of plant life that covers our rolling hills and mountains. The California Native Plant Society is a good resource for learning about our drought tolerant beauties.
Here’s how the painting might look in a dark frame that picks up the colors in the painting, with warm touches of coppery-gold.
I haven’t talked about framing too often here, but it’s true that the frame can have a big impact on how a painting looks. Compare how the same painting, on the same colored background appears in a gold carved frame. The dark frame creates a more rustic look, which might be appropriate for a home with western accents. The gold frame creates a lighter, more elegant appearance. Which do you think works best? Do you like seeing one of my paintings with framing suggestions, as opposed to just seeing the painting by itself?
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.
Mt. Boney (Boney Mountain) – Conejo Valley Painting by California Impressionist Karen Winters
Mt. Boney (from Satwiwa Park viewpoint, Conejo Valley)
16 x 20
Oil on canvas
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My latest painting, finished just in time for the Artwalk in Thousand Oaks next weekend in the Conejo Valley.
Mt. Boney is part of the Santa Monica Mountain range, and is an imposing formation with sheer faces. I think it looks especially nice in afternoon light when the late sun reflects off the faceted planes of the rocks.
California Poppy Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting – Tejon Ranch
Tejon Ranch Poppy Hillside
9 x 12
oil on plein air panel
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See more of my wildflower paintings here:
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of painting at the Tejon Ranch with other artist and signature artist members of the California Art Club. It was a unique opportunity to enjoy the spring beauty of the land, which is not open to the general public. The wind gusts were intense at times, but the color made up for the distraction. This is one of the paintings I worked on over the two day period – this one was on the Antelope Valley side, not too far from the Lancaster Poppy Reserve. I’ll be posting more soon.
Way of the Oak – California Impressionist Landscape Oil Painting of Oak Tree on Trail – by Karen Winters
“The Way of the Oak”
12 x 16 oil on canvas
See more Pasadena area paintings here
This graceful old oak arches over a trail on Eaton Canyon, beckoning the hiker to walk under the arch and continue their journey. Scenes like this are typical of trails all over California, though. From the Arroyo Seco of Pasadena, the Cerro Gordo campgrounds of California’s Central Coast, the equestrian trails of La Canada, where I live, and the trails of Irvine Park, Malibu Creek State Park, Agoura, and more. I’ve seen so many places like this that it is truly iconic of California, especially in the springtime when the grasses are still fresh and only beginning to turn to gold.
