St. Francis of Assisi statue, Mission San Juan Bautista

“St. Francis of Assisi statue”
14 x 11 inches
Oil on canvas

At a recent visit to California Mission San Juan Bautista, I saw this small statue in the inner garden area and thought it would be interesting to paint. The late afternoon sunlight made the weathered granite glow. I don’t know how old the statue was, but it had certainly been softened by the elements.

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Capistrano hollyhocks – California mission garden oil painting

Capistrano Hollyhocks
12 x 9 inch oil on plein air panel

One of the lovely features of Mission San Juan Capistrano, in southern California, is the mission garden which is filled with seasonal flowers such as these hollyhocks. It’s been said that the padres called this biennial plant St. Joseph’s Staff, because of its great height. I have some growing in my own garden and they are close to seven feet tall. What I like about painting hollyhocks is that the petals are so translucent in the sunlight. Capturing the delicacy is challenging, but fun. Palm trees and blooming jacarandas can be seen in the background along with the mission architecture.

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At the Hacienda – Mission San Antonio de Padua Plein air painting by Karen Winters

“Meanwhile, at the Hacienda”
9 x 12 oil on linen panel
plein air painting – painted at Mission San Antonio de Padua
California Central Coast area

During the California Art Club paint out at the mission, I came upon this small guest house which intrigued me as a painting subject. In the late afternoon light, I could imagine it as an old California adobe, cool inside in spite of the surrounding heat. Some early model chickens miraculously appeared where a late model car had been.