November Bloom – Lone Pine Eastern Sierra oil painting


“November Bloom”
20 x 24 oil painting
Eastern Sierra, Lone Pine, Mt. Whitney Portal area

Not for sale – I’m keeping this in my own collection. But I will paint something very similar for you. Please inquire

Time and again I return to this area of the Eastern Sierra where the Mt. Whitney Portal road crosses the Owens Valley and leads up to the trailhead to Mt. Whitney. Many of my collectors have climbed that awesome peak once or more. November brings out a wonderful wildflower show which is worth seeing in person.
This painting was intended to be a centerpiece of spring 2020 shows, before the pandemic got in the way.


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Red Fox portrait oil painting

“Red Fox”
9 x 12 inches, oil painting

It’s not uncommon for me to do pet portraits of dogs or cats, but I think this is the first wild animal portrait I’ve done. The fur was challenging but the eyes were the most fun. The native plants in the background are apricot mallow, a drought tolerant California native plant indigenous to high desert and chaparral areas, as well as valleys.

This painting was exhibited in spring 2019 at the Pacific Grove Natural History Museum, in Pacific Grove, CA on the Monterey Peninsula.


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Colorado plein air landscape painting – cloudy day

“Colorado Cloudy Day”
8 x 10 inches, oil on plein air panel
Available.

I painted this as we were on the way from Monte Vista, Colorado to Gunnison. It was just a turn off the highway into a campground, but when I saw it I knew I had to stop. The sky was clear when I started blocking in the scene, but before long large clouds starting rolling in and completely filled the horizon. I had just finished when raindrops started to fall, so we scrambled to get everything under cover and into our car. Not long after, the storm blew through and the sky was sunny again. Then more clouds and raindrops, more sun. It was like that for our whole trip. I guess that’s what they mean by Monsoon Season!

Moonstone Beach Moment Cambria impressionist oil painting

SOLD
Moonstone Beach Moment
6 x 6 inches
Oil

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Moonstone Beach in Cambria is one of my favorite shores to paint. This miniature 6 x 6 inch painting captures the freshness of the surf, with the mist in the air, on a beautiful fall day.

See more of my Cambria paintings here

© 2013 Karen Winters Fine Art

Grand Canyon plein air oil painting El Tovar view

View From El Tovar
Grand Canyon plein air oil painting
9 x 12 oil on plein air panel

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December 2012

Another of my plein air paintings from Grand Canyon, South Rim. This one was painted near the El Tovar Hotel, the majestic old inn on the edge of the canyon. The time of day is near sunset. Below, some photos of the work in progress

Grand Canyon plein air oil painting by Karen Winters

Maricopa Point View
Grand Canyon Maricopa Point south rim plein air oil painting
8 x 10 inches
Oil on linen plein air panel
Available

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http://www.karenwinters.com
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Just a few days ago we returned from a holiday trip to the Grand Canyon, one of the great natural wonders of the world. I had never seen it covered in winter snow, and I had planned ahead with all my plein air gear. It was near freezing that morning on the South Rim, which kept the snow crisp and fresh. Later in the day a cold wind moved in and I had to layer up even more. It’s surprising how cold you get when you aren’t hiking or moving around.

I set up my easel near Maricopa Point, on the South Rim, along the Rim Trail. In the distance you can see a bit of Wotan’s Throne, an enormous mesa that is adjacent to the north rim at Cape Royal. My husband shot some video of me working on this painting, which I’ll post when we get it edited.

Because I’m almost as passionate about nature and learning as I am about painting, I found it fascinating to know that the top layers of the Grand Canyon (from the Jurassic period) have already been eroded away, so the only fossils embedded in the rocks are from the pre-dinosaur era. One finds trilobites, ferns, dragonflies, etc. but no T-rex bones.

San Luis Obispo Creek Oil Painting

San Luis Obispo Creek
9 x 12 inch oil painting
Available.

(this view features a bridge over the creek. I chose an angle that did not show the cement walkways, as I prefer the natural look.)

Interested in this painting? See more of my California Central Coast paintings here

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San Luis Obispo Creek winds through the Central California city of San Luis Obispo, before emptying into the Pacific Ocean near Avila Beach. Numerous restaurants line the banks of the creek, and if you eat on one of their patios during the summer, you’ll be treated to the sounds of a chorus of frogs. Occasionally steelhead trout can be seen in the waters. An annual cleanup day keeps the creek in good condition, a source of pride for the community.

Chasing Clouds – Carmel Valley Road landscape oil painting

“Chasing Clouds”
8 x 10 oil
Carmel Valley Road landscape,
Monterey Peninsula
Available


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On our way back from the San Luis Obispo Plein Air Festival this year, we drove up highway 1 through Big Sur, spent a night in Carmel, then returned via Carmel Valley Road. This beautiful “back road” features wonderful hills covered with oaks. The day we passed through, the clouds were spectacular, so I decided to focus on them in this painting.

If you look to the left side of the blog, you’ll see I’ve gotten around to updating my sold painting list. I haven’t put my new sold paintings there since January, and this year’s almost 50 sold works are now featured. I sort of wish that I could see a pattern in what appeals to my wonderful collectors, but it appears that their tastes and interests are as broad as mine. Some paintings are large, some very small. There are seascapes, animals, genre paintings, flowers, fruit, landscapes … and the subject matter is from every part of California.

Tournament House Rose Garden Oil Painting Pasadena Wrigley Mansion commissioned painting

SOLD
Tournament House Rose Garden painting
(Home of the Tournament of Roses Association, Rose Parade organizer)
11 x 14 oil
Painted on commission

This new painting is intended as a Christmas gift from the lovely woman who commissioned it, for a very special gentleman. The rose garden was where they first met. Built in 1906, the Tournament House was purchased by chewing gum magnate Wm. Wrigley in 1914. The home was given to the city of Pasadena in 1958 for use by the Tournament Association. The centennial rose garden (seen here) is spectacular in full bloom. The painting represents it in early morning light.

Don’t you just love romantic stories? I know I do, and I get a special joy from making paintings that commemorate special events – like first dates, first meetings, places where proposals happened, and so forth.

If you’re considering giving a painting as a holiday gift, this is a very good time to get in touch as things get busier as the season draws closer.

Interested in commissioning a painting?
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Sweet Springs Oil Painting – The Sweet Spot – Los Osos, California


SOLD

The Sweet Spot
Sweet Springs, Los Osos
14 x 11 oil painting on linen plein air panel

This painting is now in a private collection but I have other Central Coast paintings.
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See more of my California Central Coast paintings here
See more of my Morro Bay and Morro Rock paintings here

More painting at the San Luis Obispo Plein Air Festival. This lovely spot is Sweet Springs, a 24 acre nature sanctuary in Los Osos, California. Towering eucalyptus groves shelter a quiet pond where flocks of birds feed and rest from their migratory flights. I understand the grove is sometimes a shelter for Monarch butterflies, too.