Spring Medley – Anza Borrego Desert Painting – Karen Winters
Spring Medley – 11 x 15 – mixed media
SOLD
Here’s a painting that combines both watercolor and acrylic – one for its transparency, the other for its opacity – each used to its best advantage (in my opinion!)
It was inspired by a photo I took at the Anza Borrego State Park in N. San Diego County when we went there to look at the wildflower bloom several weeks ago (better make that months ago!) What attracted me to this scene was the contrast of textures – the hard rocks and the soft desert flowers, plus the contrast of shadows and bright sunlight.
Right now I’m in final preparations for the Sierra Madre show. All of the pictures (more than 35!) are in their frames, although I don’t think I have enough space in my booth to display them all at once – so I’m going to have to make some hard choices.
In addition I have a number of matted but unframed watercolors, like this one, which will be in a bin for people to look through.
Arroyo Seco Eucalyptus – Pasadena – Daily Oil Painting by Karen Winters
“Arroyo Seco Eucalyptus” 9 x 12 oil on canvas
SOLD
Not too long ago I did a plein air watercolor sketch of this beautiful eucalyptus which stands along one of the pathways in Pasadena’s Arroyo Seco. The morning light was bouncing off of the ground and causing some of the ragged hanging bark to glow with rich warm tones. A smaller shrub was struck by the sunlight and shimmered in pale chartreuse. Although my objective had been to paint the bridge, I couldn’t resist this combination, which I have now turned into an oil painting.
Tomorrow (Sunday, May 11) I will be painting en plein air at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena (formerly the Ritz Carlton Huntington.) Look for me on the balcony near the Tea Room, enjoying the fresh air and beauty of the grounds. I’m hoping for blue sunny skies – and if they don’t happen, I’ll invent some!
Mountain Sketch – Karen Winters Daily Painting
“Mountain Sketch”
approx 8.5 x 11 watercolor
Well, I’m in countdown mode again – looking forward to the Sierra Madre Art Fair benefitting Friends of the Sierra Madre Library in (where else?) beautiful Sierra Madre, California, just a bit northeast of Pasadena.
So I’ll be posting some smaller sketches and paintings this week as I get my framing completed and gather together other items for sale.
This sketchbook study was painted with watercolor first – then the ink was added. It’s a little different from the way I usually work, but my objective was to think about color and shape more than line – hence the “reverse” order.
Autumn Glow – Japanese Garden at Huntington Gardens – Daily Painting – Karen Winters
“Autumn Glow”
16 x 20 oil on canvas
The Japanese Garden at the Huntington Library, Gallery and Botanical Gardens – in all its autumn glory. This painting is now being shown at the Chevy Chase Country Club in a special show themed “The Artist Travels.” Some of our paintings are from far away lands and others just evoke the feeling of distant lands. If you’re in Los Angeles, come join us at our reception this Friday, May 9, from 4 to 6 pm.
And speaking of shows, please come say hello May 17-18 at the Sierra Madre Art in the Park event, the weekend after next. I’ll have a lot of new work to show, plus prints and cards as well.
Other local must-sees if you’re in LA.
Visit the John Salminen exhibit at the San Marino Gallery in Pasadena. John is a spectacular watercolorist and his show is a visual feast. Design is his forte, and although his watercolors are very detailed and realistic, somehow they are abstract at the same time. The San Marino Gallery is at 70 N. Raymond Ave.
See the Gold Medal Show of the California Art Club at the Pasadena Museum of California Art. Hundreds of oustanding paintings will be on display daily for another week and a half or so.
Eaton Canyon Swift Water – Karen Winters Watercolor
“Swift Water – Eaton Canyon” SOLD
15 x 22 watercolor on paper
Well, today was the day from computer hell. Once in a very long time my Mac system gets corrupted and I need to reinstall system. However it got balky it now seems resolved. I painted this yesterday but didn’t have time to put any finishing touches on it until I got the puter back in order today. Many thanks to my dear husband for helping with the troubleshooting.
This painting was inspired by the winter and spring rain we had at Eaton Canyon in Altadena (near Pasadena.) Although the water wasn’t deep it was abundant in the wide ravine and fun to paint.
We Two – La Canada Flintridge Trail – Karen Winters Oil Painting
“We Two” – (La Canada Flintridge Trail) – 12 x 16 oil on canvas
UPDATE … I took the painting to the show today (Saturday) and was happy to find out that it won Best in Show. So I think I made a good decision to choose this one to enter.
Like the study that preceded it (Fall in Winter in La Canada), this painting was inspired by a walk my husband and I took last winter along the Flint Canyon Trail in La Canada, our home town. The sycamores were blazing with autumn color, even though winter was on the way. I am keeping this painting for sentimental reasons, but if anyone is interested, I can make prints. I’m entering this in an upcoming show, one of the many I’ve been preparing for.
If you live in or near La Canada, the location of this painting is very near the little old stone bridge at Berkshire which goes over the Flint Canyon creek. This is a part of the equestrian trail that is to one side of the creek.
Poppy Paradise – Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve – Karen Winters Oil Painting for Make A Wish
“Poppy Paradise” 8 x 10 oil on canvas
SOLD
Yes, this plein-air style painting is for sale. And for a very good cause. It will be delivered tomorrow to the Make a Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles for their 15th annual wine tasting and auction at the Barker Hangar, Santa Monica Airport on Saturday, May 3. One of the organizers saw my work and asked if I’d participate with a donation, and I was delighted to give her a big YES, absolutely!
So, if you are in the LA area and planning on going to the fabulous festive event – keep a lookout for this painting and put a bid on it, OK? The Make a Wish Foundation helps grant wishes to children who are very ill. I hope that this poppy field will go to help make some little kid’s dream come true.
I chose the subject matter for this painting because it is peak season for poppies in the high desert of the Antelope Valley. And if there’s any time that people will be thinking about poppies, it’s probably now. To me it also has some nice associations with the Wizard of Oz and Dorothy and her friends’ journey through the poppy field and her dearest wish, to get back home.
Here’s to the children … may they all be happy and may all their good wishes come true.
Malibu Creek Afternoon by Karen Winters – oil painting – Santa Monica Mountains
“Malibu Creek Afternoon” 16 x 20 oil on canvas
SOLD
See more of my Malibu paintings here
A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of visiting Malibu Creek State Park, deep in the heart of the Santa Monica Mountains. While our children were growing up we made many visits to ponds and hiking trails throughout the range, but we never visited this beautiful place. Sycamores line the banks of the creek (they’re all green now) but I’m planning return visits in the summer and fall to see how the landscape changes. This point of view is from the bridge by the visitor’s center, if you know the area. The scene depicted is about 3:30 in the afternoon.
Last week I enjoyed taking a watercolor workshop from Dale Laitinen, which was excellent. I learned a lot not only about different watercolor techniques but about abstract design and composition. I’ll be posting some of those in the next few days. Right now I’m trying to compile a list of paintings to enter in various shows, and to prep for a number of sales.
More later
Sandstone Peak – near Malibu – Karen Winters Plein Air painting
“Sandstone Peak”
12 x 16 oil on canvas
Here’s the result of last Saturday’s paintout, with a very nice group of painters who specialize in the Santa Monica Mountains area. This location is at Circle X Ranch, high in the mountains above Malibu, actually a little closer to Ventura, just north of “County Line.” We arrived around 9 am – a problematic time for plein air painting as the face of the mountain was completely front lit. We’re talking full frontal eastern sunlight, which pretty much wiped out any chance of getting strong shadows. I knew this was going to be difficult, but we didn’t drive over an hour to paint some trees and bushes in the shade, so I figured I’d give it a go anyway.
When I got home from the paintout I discovered that I had to alter some of the colors to make the hillside recede, and to punch the foreground wildflowers to make them come forward. I could have done it on the spot but by the time I finished (around noon) the light had changed enough that there wasn’t much point in painting more. A reference photo allowed me to put on the finishing touches at home.
I was talking with pastellist Bruce Trentham while we took a break, and it turned out that we had both seen the same Ansel Adams PBS documentary which aired within the past week. One of Adams’ principles was to create a photograph not exactly as it WAS but how it made him feel. In other words he didn’t just photograph the scene he photographed his personal experience. That experience might have been a feeling of awe, rapture, serenity or other strong emotion. Sometimes he would use special filters to darken the sky unnaturally, the better to express what he was feeling. That, I believe, is one of the differences between fine art photography and just taking “a picture.” And it is the difference between merely copying a scene, either en plein air or in studio … and expressing a personal reaction. And that is why we paint more flowers than were really there (or that close), or we change colors, or soften and sharpen edges and so much more. Did I faithfully copy every nook and cranny of the rocks? Of course not! I got the general shape and enough crevices to say rocks, but more really isn’t necessary nor even advisable.
After the paintout we drove up and down the coast, stopping at several pocket beaches which were swarming with people. Little did we know that it was a hot day in the valleys and everyone had headed for the beach.
Here’s the work in progress shot. To answer a question I received a week ago (sorry, it’s been crazy busy) I use a Yarka easel and an easelmate which is like a wooden box with two “wings” that unfold to hold brushes, paper towels, etc. I have sheet of 12 x 16 glass (mounted to foamcore) which slides into the easelmate when I paint out. Under the painting in progress you can see a small sketchbook in which I did a composition before blocking in my color.
Poppy Garden – sketchbook watercolor
“Poppy Garden” – approx 9 x 12 watercolor
Tuesday afternoon I had the opportunity to join my friend Wendee for some sketching and painting in a nearby garden that is filled with billows of California poppies. Do you detect a seasonal theme here? I didn’t have time for a big painting but I wanted to do a reference sketch that I could take home to use for a larger watercolor or oil painting. It contains just enough information to describe the scene without being too detailed. I can paint the smaller touches from memory. Or leave them out, as the case may be.
