California Sunset Landscape Impressionist Painting – Karen Winters
California Sunset
5 x 7 inch oil on panel
In the wide open heartland of California’s Central Valley, the skies are big and the land is rich and bountiful. This plein aire style impressionistic landscape painting captures the glory of the waning day. I can’t pinpoint the exact location, but the surrounding names are picturesque, Buttonwillow, Lost Hill, Tranquility.
Just for fun, here’s a closeup of one part of the painting, showing the brushstrokes and delicate color:
Pasadena Federal Court of Appeals Painting – Karen Winters
Pasadena Court of Appeals – former Vista Del Arroyo Hotel
11 x 14 acrylic
SOLD
This stately building has become the federal court of appeals in Pasadena, California, but it was formerly the Vista Del Arroyo Hotel. I’ve painted it once before in my sketchbook, but this was an opportunity to portray it from a different angle and at a different time of day. In the distance the San Gabriel Mountains catch the late afternoon light. The foreground sycamores are starting to turn color, an early sign of fall.
Arroyo Trail – California Impressionist Oil Painting by Karen Winters
Arroyo Trail
11 x 14 oil
See more Pasadena paintings here
The Arroyo Seco continues to be one of my favorite subjects for landscapes. In the distance are the San Rafael Hills, part of the communities of La Canada Flintridge and Pasadena.
San Gabriel Summer – California Impressionist plein air style Oil painting
San Gabriel Summer
5 x 7 oil on panel
SOLD
This quick impression of Hahmongna park captures the feeling of the San Gabriel mountains when summer thunderheads bring rain to the high desert. The weather has been hot and humid, and the thunderheads are the evidence. The heat is keeping people away from Descanso Gardens, much to our disappointment. But the weather is supposed to improve, and the weekend will be in the mid 80s … a big drop from the close to 100 degrees we’ve been experiencing.
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.
This Golden Land – California Central Coast Impressionist Oil Painting by Karen Winters
“This Golden Land”
10″ x 20″ oil on canvas
SOLD
See more of my landscapes here
This painting represents my first experience in painting a panoramic scene, as opposed to rectangular canvases I normally use for studio paintings which are more in a 4:3 aspect ratio. You’d have to see it in person to see how it captures more of the feeling of “being there.” I think that’s because we are used to seeing panoramically more than through windows.
The location of this painting in in California’s Central Coast region near Paso Robles. It is wine country, but I’m guessing that this golden field was used as grazing pastureland. If I were a cow I’d think it was a little bit of heaven. The time of day was about 4 pm in mid summer when there was still plenty of light to illuminate the field, but not so much that the colors were all washed out. How I’d love to be back there at this moment, painting, and listening to the calls of the red winged blackbirds. I can imagine that there are probably a few head of cattle resting under that big oak in the windbreak. Can you?
One other note about the painting. Because it is wet there is a bit of glare in the sky that is brighter than the actual painting. It is light in that part of the sky, but not “burned out” white. When It’s drier I’ll reshoot it or scan it. Until then, I need to get it uploaded.
This Saturday, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ll be painting in the tearoom lobby at the Langham Huntington Hotel in San Marino as a weekend “artist in residence.” We are invited to bring a few paintings along for display and I’m hoping this will be dry enough by then to travel.
River Run – California Impressionist Oil painting by Karen Winters
River Run (study)
5 x 7 oil
Click the image to see it actual size.
I did this study today to practice painting with a very limited palette and to make a plan for a larger painting . Want to guess what three colors I used? (Not including white.)
Santa Barbara Meadow – Karen Winters California Impressionist Oil Painting
Santa Barbara Meadow (at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden)
12 x 16 oil on canvas
Whenever we visit Santa Barbara, I try to make some time to visit their beautiful botanic garden which features native plants in natural settings. Last week my husband went to a seminar up in Santa Barbara and I tagged along to take pictures, visit the museum and the mission and of course, the botanic garden. It was late afternoon when I arrived there, but close to the solstice the days are long. Although the poppies were gone many other summer perennials were blooming, surrounded by sages and plants of every texture and description. The experience has persuaded me to turn part of our yard into a natives habitat – and then not worry so much about watering!
Granted, Santa Barbara’s coastal climate is most likely moister and more even in temperature than our inland valley, but I saw plants that I think would be at home with us.
This is one of the paintings I’ll likely be bringing to our show at Descanso starting August 23, unless it finds a home before then.
Foothill Pines – California Impressionist Oil Painting – Karen Winters
Foothill Pines
6 x 8 oil on canvas
• SOLD
A gentle road winds through California’s Gold Rush Country, where the oaky foothills give way to the first pines of the Sierras. The morning fog lifts in a slight breeze to reveal the radiant hills of mid summer. A moment of pure tranquility!
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Tuscan Hillside – Karen Winters Daily Painting
6 x 6 oil on canvas on board
Tuscan Hillside
I’m exploring the same theme, from a different angle.
I’m really tired today – must be the heat. Or, it could be resting up from yesterday’s trip to Santa Barbara, Montecito and Carpinteria. While my husband took a work-related seminar I made a whirlwind trip to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art to see some of their collection. Then, off to the Mission grounds and olive garden and the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden – all with camera in hand. Later in the day we headed south to Carpinteria where I shot photos of the salt marsh, beach scenes and a fabulous sunset. All told, I covered a lot of ground – uphill and down, then back to LA and up at 7 to get ready to paint with friends at 9. Yes, exhausting! The painting I started today is of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, and I think it’s going to turn out really well. Now I’ve got to let the under painting dry enough to work on the details in a few days.
I am now counting down the days until my show at Descanso Gardens begins – August 22. Unlike last year this time, I have plenty of paintings to draw from, including many that have never been shown before. But there are still prints and cards to get ready, plus working on publicity. Lot of work, not much time!
