Pacific Memories – Karen Winters Daily Painting
Pacific Memories – 5 x 7 inches acrylic on canvas on board
Much of the coastline of Northern California (and above) lacks the warm beaches and golden sand we know here, but it is blessed with craggy rocks of every shape and description. These rugged areas invite exploration – but not on a day when the surf is high.
On a different geographical note, there’s a good chance we’ll see snow in the mountains when we wake up – an unusual event for our area. Perhaps in a few days we’ll have a chance to drive up into the Angeles National Forest and see some snow-bedecked trees.
Sailing Home – Karen Winters Daily Painting
“Sailing Home” – 16 x 20 – oil on canvas – SOLD
This is the next in my marine series – and I am discovering new things with each one that I do. This time my objective was to experiment with some atmospheric effects. Unlike the previous painting, the palette is considerably more limited, with values designed to create a more dramatic presence.
Now, I know that some people will object to the dark and turbulent clouds. But when you think about it, when do you appreciate the sun the most? On a mild blue-sky day – or when it finally breaks through after a storm? So there’s my Deep Thought of the day.
Anyway, tomorrow is the opening of Watercolor West’s annual show and reception, I’ve been looking forward to this occasion for a long time, seeing my painting hung and visiting with friends. I’m sure it will be wonderful and I hope the weather will cooperate. It’s at the Riverside Art Museum in Riverside, California if you’re in Southern California and are looking for an art filled way to spend the afternoon.
On other art fronts, our holiday Descanso show is being hung today. There was a lot of good work I saw this morning, and is a second good reason to visit Descanso other than the camellias now in bloom!
Radiant Sea – Karen Winters Impressionist painting
“Radiant Sea” – oil on canvas – 16 x 20 inches
SOLD
I think this is my one of my favorite paintings that I’ve done this year … and it’s headed for Descanso Gardens’ Christmas Show starting this Friday, December 7, along with Desert Sunrise and two other new paintings yet to be posted here. Because there are 15 artists in this show (everyone who’s shown in the previous year) I won’t be gallery sitting every day – only a day and a half. So, if you have a spare moment to stop by and say hi, drop me a note. I’ll know my schedule on Friday.
I don’t usually have time to do this, but I thought it would be fun to post some larger closeups of some of the areas in the painting. Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
The surf and sand reflect all the colors in the painting
The “silver lining” part was tricky. I guess this cloud has a golden lining.
Using fingers and rags to get this effect.
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.
Tranquil Lake – Karen Winters Daily Painting
“Tranquil Lake” 5 x 7 oil on canvas on board
Cool and serene. A place to retreat to when the world’s cares weigh on the soul.
Oh Golden Hills – Karen Winters daily painting
Oh Golden Hills – 8 x 10 oil on canvas
SOLD
California’s central coast area is full of beautiful areas like this – golden rolling hills decorated with passages of live oak trees that characteristically seek the gullies and crevices where water is most plentiful. This vignette is from a roadside on the way to Lompoc, California, an area known for fertile flower fields and rich agriculture.
This painting will be dry in a few days, and ready for shipping!
The blue dome of the sky arched over this tranquil scene, and the late afternoon shadows were tinged with violet. I didn’t see any cattle resting in the shade of those oaks, but they were likely there.
Fall at Huntington Gardens -Karen Winters daily painting
Fall at the Huntington – 9 x 12 oil on canvas on hardboard
In Southern California sometimes our seasons get all mixed up. Summer flowers are still blooming while deciduous trees have already lost their leaves. This tree stands outside a gallery at Huntington Gardens, and is in the process of losing its finery. Evergreens will keep the gardens looking lush and beautiful year round – from the tall conifers and deodars to cypresses and olives, like the little olive tree that stands guard on the other side of the doorway.
I’m still not feeling well, but it hasn’t put a damper on my desire to make art. I just have to do it indoors rather than painting en plein air for now.
University of Redlands Original Plein Air Oil Painting of Larsen Hall by Karen Winters – November 2007 Centennial
“Larsen Hall” – 9 x 12 oil on canvas on board
University of Redlands original plein air oil painting
Thanksgiving has come and gone and we are thankful for the blessings of home, family and freedom from want. I am decidedly NOT thankful for the nasty cold I came down with during the day, which has absolutely knocked me for a loop today. I’m hoping that by tomorrow I’ll start to recover somewhat.
I have been working on a winter painting which may be our Christmas card this year, so in the meantime here’s a painting from October’s plein air paintout at University of Redlands which I had not posted earlier. It was done at about 9:30 am at Larsen Hall on Saturday, October 20, just a day before the winds and fires came to So. California.
This isn’t the front of Larsen Hall, which may be a more popular angle, but I chose this one around the side because it provided a good view of the dome as well as the beautiful violet mountains, deodar trees and the blooming sago palm – all images which are iconic of the campus.
Harvest – Still Life Daily Painting – Karen Winters
“Harvest” 8 x 10 oil
Available
Persimmons are still in season around here, so I decided to do another still life including one. This is a lot looser than most of the oil paintings I’ve been doing, and I enjoyed the opportunity to try something different. This was painted from life using reasonably thick paint and larger brushes than those I normally use. I had intended to push the abstract qualities even farther, but this was about as painterly as I could manage at the moment. Next time I do a still life maybe I can nudge it even a little more in that direction. Although it’s still a month or more away, I’m beginning to get a few notions about what I want to learn and explore in 2008. Opinions about this different approach?
Climbing Rose Oil Painting
“Climbing Rose” 5 x 7 oil on canvas on board
This is the second in what will be an ongoing series of rose portraits – at least as long as they keep blooming, which will probably be a few more weeks from the looks of things at Huntington Gardens and Descanso Gardens. I think it’s the warm weather that is encouraging this last flush to be so abundant. This climber was twirling itself around a trellis without a care in the world.
Here we are eagerly anticipating the return of our daughter from business school in Chicago. We’re clearing away the residue of months of back to back art shows and getting seriously organized until the next wave begins. Any day now I’ll have to give some attention to my garden which has been sorely neglected. Ironic, that. I spend more time painting flowers than pruning my own. If only there were a way to add an extra 10-12 hours a day I’d be just fine.
