Solstice Canyon Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting
Solstice Canyon, Malibu (on the bridge up the trail)
9 x 12
oil on canvas
Click image to see a larger, higher quality picture
Saturday I had the pleasure of going with a group of painting friends to Solstice Canyon, a park in Malibu in the Santa Monica Mountains. When we woke up in the morning (early) it was very dark outside and I came to realize that it wasn’t just our daylight saving time change – the sky was heavily overcast. I debated going or not going, because I generally prefer to paint spring scenes under beautiful clear skies. But I decided to go paint anyway, thinking that maybe it would be a 2-panel day. One before the burnoff and one later.
As it turned out, the overcast skies never really cleared, but there was something about the silvery look and cool blue light that really appealed to me. And it’s a look that I might not have gotten on a typical sunny Malibu day.
In the earliest spring, only a few of the trees had put on their new foliage so a great deal of light came through to illuminate the ground. I can imagine that with a full summer canopy only patches of warm, brilliant light would appear. This is what I love about plein air painting. Even when you have painted a scene before, it’s never the same twice. The weather is different, or the time of day, or the season, and each of those factors interact to create different looks and moods.
Here’s a work in progress shot
Good Morning, La Canada Flintridge
“Good Morning, La Canada”
9″ x 12″ oil on canvas on board
For more information about this painting, please write
In our small town, the streets aren’t usually this deserted in the morning, but during the holidays and early weekend mornings there’s definitely less traffic. I decided to leave out the random cars for the sake of reducing clutter.
La Canada Flintridge is a “bedroom” community of Los Angeles. Just 20 minutes or so from downtown, Foothill Blvd. is our main street. This is a view of the corner of Foothill and Oakwood, quite near the Vons market on the left, and La Canada Presbyterian Church on the right (that’s the spire that’s visible.)
After all the paintings I’ve done of Pasadena, the Arroyo Seco, Eaton Canyon, Hahamongna Park, Glendale, Descanso Gardens and other local sites, it’s really about time I got around to painting more of LC itself.
The last time I painted a vertical cityscape it was El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, near the Pasadena Playhouse. This one. So maybe it’s about time for another one.
Cottonwood Dawn — California Impressionist Oil Painting – Eastern Sierras
Cottonwood Dawn
(near Bishop, California)
16 x 20 oil on canvas
SOLD
Ths painting is sold but I have others of the Sierras in the fall. Write me.
Although the leaves are now fallen and scattered by the wind, the eastern Sierras still call me and evoke memories of golden glory. I understand that snow sometimes falls in Bishop, in the Owens Valley, but that it doesn’t stay on the ground long. How I’d love to go back there and see these meadows and cottonwoods clad in downy white. Maybe later in the season – I hope!
Autumn Morning – Bishop, California – California impressionist oil painting by Karen Winters
Autumn Morning, Bishop
12 x 16 oil on linen on panel
SOLD
The High Sierras rise in the background over a wildflower meadow in Bishop, California. Dawn light touches the peaks and the Owens Valley as well.
On Friday Dec, 5, I’ll be gallery sitting (and probably painting) at Descanso Gardens Art Gallery from 10 – 4 pm. Come say hello and keep me company and see the works of 19 artists, including four paintings of mine.
Then, on Saturday, at 5 pm, please join me at the Women’s City Club of Pasadena (Blinn House) for the opening wine and cheese reception of the California Art Club’s “Concerto of Color” show. Admission and parking are free and the artists would really appreciate a great turnout. The Blinn House show features artwork from CAC Associates from the whole state of California. This is the third time I’ve been honored to be included in the biannual show. It’s a wonderful way to kick off the holiday party season!
California Oak Trail – Impressionist Landscape Oil Painting
Morning on the Trail – Hall Canyon Oaks
Oil on hardboard panel
11 x 14 inches
This is a painting that I began last year, put aside and then worked on again recently with a fresh outlook. I think that all painters have paintings like these. Either we were too busy at the time working on other paintings, or somehow lost interest along the way, or otherwise decided that the time was not right to bring it to finish.
It’s been hanging where I see it whenever I pass by. Enough repetitive glances and I start thinking … what if I tried this, or that? What if I corrected this challenging passage? What if I tried a different color here or there? Or added some different shaped branches?
The fact is, until the time that a painting is signed sold and on its way to a new home, any one may be a “work in progress” and as our experience and vision changes, so does the way we express ourselves. And just as the natural world changes and morphs with time and the seasons, so do we.
California Original Oil Landscape – Sierra Vista
Sierra Nevada Vista
8 x 10 inches
Oil on canvas panel
Contact the artist for price information
A California original impressionist oil painting, inspired by autumn in the Eastern Sierra Nevadas. Mt Abbot and Mt. Morgan are featured rising above the Owens Valley, dressed in fall colors. Wildflowers still bloom, contrasting boldly with the brilliant blues of the mountain and skies. Although the mountaintops seem tranquil we were told that 90 mph winds were blowing off the summit. Down in the valley gusts blew us around as well.
Arroyo Seco Reflections – California Impressionist Landscape Oil Painting
Arroyo Seco Reflections
8 x 10 inches – oil
SOLD
I’ll be taking this new painting to the Pasadena Art Walk October 11 on El Molino Ave (between Colorado and Green Street) . When I took a walk through the arroyo yesterday, I noticed several aspens by the stream that I hadn’t noticed before. I can hardly wait for them to turn color because I think the show is going to be dazzling.
The sycamores are starting to look dry, there’s no evidence of fall in their foliage. It may be that they will only get dusky looking this year – it seems to depend on the weather.
This Saturday I’m looking forward to the artists reception for the Day of the Dead show at The Marengo Collection. The reception will be from 2-6 pm and will include a painting which was juried into last year’s Brand Works on Paper show. More about that tomorrow.
Now, it’s time for me to get back to the easel!
California Eucalyptus – Impressionist Oil Painting by Karen Winters – to be shown at Descanso Gardens
Big Eucalyptus
18 x 24 in. oil on canvas
SOLD to a collector in Pasadena
See more eucalyptus paintings here
If you are interested in eucalyptus paintings
Write Me
Well, tomorrow is the big day … the hanging and opening of our Descanso Gardens group show … and this is one of the big paintings I’m taking. It’s a portrait of one of my favorite California trees, the eucalyptus. The moment I saw this beauty I was compelled to paint it in all its backlit glory.
The show runs from August 22 to September 18 and the gallery is open from 10 to 3:30 but might close some days at 3. On the days I’m gallery-sitting I will probably bring something with me to paint as I did last year.
Our reception will be August 31, Sunday of Labor Day Weekend, from 1-4.
If you live in Southern California, I hope you’ll have a chance to drop by. I won’t be there every day, so send me a note if you’re planning a visit so I don’t miss you.
Desert Dawn – Palm Springs California Impressionist Oil Painting
Desert Dawn – Palm Springs – California Impressionist Oil Painting
11 x 14 oil on canvas
Click image to see larger, better res version
Painting the desert as seen in morning light is definitely a challenge. The air is remarkably crisp and clear, probably clearer and with less particulate material than just about anywhere I’ve seen. So that’s a distinctive look that says “desert.” But this is in contrast to one of the principles of landscape painting that tells us that distant objects should be softer, grayer, bluer and with less distinct detail. I could have painted this painting that way .. “pushing back” the mountains with desaturation and adding more blue. But this time I chose to keep them darker, almost close enough to touch. This alluvial area comes out of the San Jacinto Mountains. I believe it’s an area along the Randall Henderson Trail, but I’m not certain. I really need to take better notes about my locations.
This painting was done using only three colors, black and white: ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow light and alizarin crimson. I feel that the limited palette can help to create greater color harmony. It was an experiment and I like the results. Some very wise teachers advocate using a full palette with perhaps two dozen colors, many premixed, so that you can quickly select the right color when time is short. There is definitely an advantage to working that way, speed being a major concern. But other good painters say that you can get more color harmony if you limit your colors and just mix like crazy. I know one demo painter that only uses about seven colors on his palette on location. Another teacher, John Cosby, challenges his students to paint with just five. So there are a lot of different things to explore and learn from.
I may be taking this painting with me to the show at Descanso. Now I’m down to the wire deciding on the right mix of subject matter, size, color, medium and so forth. Although I’m restricted to bringing 20 paintings, if you’re coming to the show and would like to see something else that I’ve featured here or on my website, drop me a note and make sure I have it available for viewing in person.
Desert Sunrise – Palm Springs – Karen Winters Daily Painting
“Desert Sunrise” oil on canvas 14 x 18
SOLD
But you can find more of my desert paintings and other landscapes at Karen Winters Gallery Site
This Friday, December 8, I will be exhibiting some paintings again at Descanso Gardens in La Canada, and this painting may be among them. (I’m still deciding which four I’ll bring for the group exhibition, and my final selection will probably be made that morning.) This painting was inspired by the warm beauty of the sunrise in Palm Springs.
On another topic, last Friday night we attended a lecture at the Norton Simon museum in Pasadena on the landscapes of Renoir. His painting continued to evolve through the years, and there were some startling examples of contemporaneous paintings executed in very different styles, depending upon the subject matter. This came as a surprise to me because I think we are used to seeing a great deal of consistency in the bodies of work of the masters. It’s refreshing to see how they experimented and explored new techniques with a variety of interesting results.
